Days at a Time
by EveryGlassHeart
Summary: In this AU, Adora is adopted by her new foster mother, Angella, and is taken to a new town called Etheria. Here she is introduced to her foster sister, Glimmer and her best friend, Bow. Together, these three take on a major threat: High School. Adora meets many new people as she tries to fit in, including one girl she can't stop running into (Unapologetic Catradora content ahead).
1. Chapter 1

A young teenage girl sat in an office watching papers shuffle around. She listened to people talking. Several people with fancy suits and boring expressions. Sometimes they spoke with each other and sometimes they spoke to her. When she heard her name she would look up, as if from a trance, and tell them what they needed to know. More papers were shuffled around and filled out.

After a while a new person entered the office and spoke to her. The girl had met her before but only briefly. This was to be her new foster parent.

The girl mustered up a practiced smile and shook the hand of the woman. The woman smiled back and greeted her. The girl could feel the warmth in her voice and the care in her eyes. The girl did not say anything else. She just went back to staring as more papers were passed around and the woman signed and signed and signed.

Eventually the last paper was filled out and the adults had talked enough and the girl was ushered up to the desk. The business woman behind the desk asked her to sign one last line. After doing so, she would officially be assigned to the new foster family.

The girl bit her lip nervously and looked at the paper. Then she looked at the person behind the desk urging her. Finally, she looked at the kind-eyed woman who was to be her foster parent, who smiled encouragingly.

The girl then nodded to herself and signed her name slowly:

Adora.

* * *

Adora tapped on the window of the car and watched the scenery go by. She was in the car of her foster mother, Angella. It had been mostly a quiet ride as most all of Adora's responses to questions had been a simple yes or no.

There was a bit of awkwardness in the air and soft pop music played on the radio. After a while Angella piped up again.

"So Adora," she spoke softly, "I am so thrilled that this can finally happen and that we can share our home and our lives with you."

Adora fidgeted a bit in her seat and then said, "Me too."

Angella carried on. "I know this transition will be a lot for you and I know you are probably very nervous right now but if you need anything at all, and I mean anything, you can come right to me. Or Glimmer at that matter."

Adora nodded, looking forward at the road. "Okay. Thanks."

She said this as politely as she could. She did not want to offend Angella. Adora could tell that she wanted to have more of a conversation, but Adora just wasn't in the right place for it.

To say that this transition was "a lot" was an understatement. Adora had just had her whole world shaken up. And while she had been told by her few friends in her old town that this would be a great opportunity, right now it just felt like a great source of anxiety.

The car ride continued in silence for a bit. Angella spoke out as much as she could. Probing to try and break through to Adora, but after a while she realized it might be best to leave her to her own thoughts until she was adjusted.

Adora didn't mind the attention, but she also didn't mind the silence. For now, she decided, she just needed to get through the day...and all the days after that. She kept staring out the window and wondered what the place would be like.

"_I might have my own room for once,"_ she mused. "_Maybe they're one of those super rich families that have a pool."_ She tried her best to lower her expectations as Angella said they were almost there.

They turned into a nice suburban neighborhood with picket fences and nicely mowed grass and eventually pulled up into the driveway of one of the homes. Adora looked up at it. It wasn't huge by any means, but for two people it seemed like way too much space.

"_Maybe they just fostered me so they could make use of the space a little more,"_ Adora thought to herself.

Angella turned off the car, fumbled in her pockets, and excitedly turned to Adora.

"We're here!" Angella beamed and handed her a key that was so bright pink and glitter covered that it almost hurt Adora's eyes just to look at it.

"This is your house key! Glimmer picked it out for you. If you can't tell bright and sparkly is kinda her theme."

Adora smirked a little. "Well at least I won't lose it."

Angella laughed at this. "You'd have a hard time with it yes. I'll grab your things from the back and please feel free to go in and look around! I'll be done in a little while and I'll show you your room. Oh and Glimmer should be home from school before too long and I know she is just thrilled to meet you, Adora."

Adora smiled briefly and hopped out of the car. She started towards the house and tried to stem the surge of anxious anticipation welling up in her. She unlocked the front door and slowly entered, her head turning every which way as she took in her new living space.

It was nice! A big open living room with a bigger TV than she had ever seen was immediately visible. She could see a bit of the kitchen and that looked big too. Framed pictures of people she didn't know lined the walls and the whole house smelled like Febreeze. She stood in the doorway for a while just looking at things, not able to decide if she wanted to explore the house or run back out the door and all the way back to her old home.

Her old place hadn't been this big and she had shared it with a lot of people, but at least it was familiar. She had just set her backpack down when she heard a grunt from outside.

Angella was struggling with some of Adora's stuff. Adora didn't have a lot and they weren't especially heavy but Angella was trying to get them all inside in one trip and kept dropping things.

Adora walked back outside and offered to help. "I can..carry some of that if you want, ma'am."

Angella sighed and laughed lightly. "I suppose I was a little ambitious. And really Adora you can just call me Angella. Ma'am makes me feel old."

Adora smiled a little, nodded, and grabbed the case that was causing the most problems. She hefted it up and started walking towards the house.

Angella followed suit. "Wow I wish I had been as strong as you when I was your age! Or even now to be honest!" She laughed. "Do you work out a lot?"

Adora shrugged. "I used to but it's been a while," she said as she placed the big suitcase down in the entrance.

"Well it paid off!" Angella sets the rest of the stuff down and catches her breath. "You look pretty...swole." Angella emphasized this last word with air quotes.

Adora winced slightly at the use of the slang word and Angella picked up on it.

"Oh no I did it again. I promised Glimmer I'd stop using slang because it embarasses her. But between you and me," Angella leans in and whispers, "that's the only reason I do half the things I do. YOLO am I right?" At this she cracks a smile.

Adora winces even harder. "_Noted." _she thinks to herself, "_New foster mom is a walking dad joke."_

"Now," Angella says, "if you'd like I can show you around and you can get familiar with the place, or you can have some time to yourself. I know it's been a long day." She looks at Adora assuringly.

"I would really like to have some time to myself if that's alright, ma'am, er...Angella, shoot."

Angella brushes off the mistake. "I don't mind at all. This is your new home after all. You should feel free to do whatever you like. Your room is up these stairs here and the second door on the right. C'mon I'll help you carry all this up, though I'm sure you could do it all with one arm tied!" They get the stuff up the stairs and Adora opens the door to her new room.

"_My room." _Adora lets this sink in as she takes in her surroundings.

It is pretty bare at the moment, but all the basics were there. There was a big bed. A bigger bed than she had ever had for sure. And there was a dresser set up and a real big closet and a bookshelf in the corner. What really stole Adora's attention, however, was the huge sparkling cutout letters hanging from one end of the ceiling to the other that said WELCOME ADORA in huge bubble letters.

"Oh right," Angella says quickly, "Glimmer insisted on that. Made it herself too. She really is excited to meet you. But she would definitely understand if you wanted to wait until tomorrow to get to know her. Or as long as you need. Entirely up to you, Adora."

She then spent a bit letting Adora know where the bathrooms were and where she could get clean towels and more general information about the house. After the basics were out of the way she turned to leave.

"I'll just leave you to it then. If you need anything at all I will be right downstairs starting dinner. I'm a god awful cook but it's a special occasion so it'll have to do!"

"Thanks Angella," Adora replied as she smiled up at the handmade welcome. "I'll let you know if I need anything."

Angella smiled warmly, shuffled out the door, and shut it behind her.

Adora let out a huge sigh and plopped down on the bed, spread eagle.

"_This is a lot,"_ she thought as she closed her eyes and processed everything. "_Angella is extremely nice. The house is super big (and I haven't even checked for a pool yet), I have my own room, and Glamor or whatever her name is sounds almost exhaustingly friendly."_

This was a lot of change for Adora, almost too much to handle. And as she drifted off to sleep on the extremely soft bed, still in her hoodie and jeans, she wondered if it would be a change for the better.

* * *

Adora woke up a few hours later and wiped the drool off her chin. She had gone out like a light. There was a moment of temporary panic as she opened her eyes and didn't recognize the room, however she soon remembered where she was.

And she also heard voices in the hallway, probably what had woken her up. She yawned quietly and listened. She recognized Angella's voice.

"No not yet. The lights are still off, she's probably sleeping!"

Adora heard another voice, younger and more than a little whiny. "But mooom! How long is she gonna sleep? I wanna give her the grand tour!"

"There will be time for that after she wakes up sweetie I promise. But she seemed very tired when we got here. She's had a long day!"

"Or she just wanted to get away from you already," the voice of what Adora presumed was Glimmer chuckled. "Did you say all those cheesy lines from that book you read about accepting new children into the home?"

The hallway was quiet for a moment.

"I knew it!" Glimmer said loudly and was quickly shushed by her mother. "You gave her the boring mom welcome and I'll give her the magical best friend welcome!"

"Well just wait until she wakes up and is ready, dear. And lets just hope she can keep up with your energy! I'm gonna go finish dinner. Don't you bug her."

Adora heard footsteps descending down the stairs. Adora was pretty surprised by the exchange. It wasn't like nobody had ever cared about her, but it seemed like this family was really going over the top to make sure she was happy and that was relatively new. She decided that even with her nervousness about the new living situation, she should try to make sure that they knew she appreciated it.

But with that said, Adora was still pretty nervous to just go walking around in some stranger's home and get to know them.

"_I could stay in this room for the rest of my life, or I could just go out there and get it over with." _Adora thought about it and decided she could probably get them to bring her food and slide it under the door. Bedroom life may not be too bad. She could set up a bucket in the corner and everything.

In the end she flipped a coin, and as fate dictated she slid out of bed and slowly opened the door to her room.

As she opened the door, she heard it creak loudly as it groaned to a slow halt. Adora winced at the sound and froze. She immediately heard a bed in the room beside her creak and then the sound of feet running hurriedly.

"_Well so much for bedroom life," _Adora thought as the door next to her opened quickly and a pink floof with a head attached to it poked out of the room and gasped.

"Adora!" the girl yelled as she ran over to Adora and wrapped her in a big hug, "It is great to finally meet you! Welcome to our home! I'm Glimmer!"

"Oh! Wow. Uh...hey! Hey there! I'm uh...Adora! Nice to meet you." Adora awkwardly placed her hands around Glimmer in this impromptu hug.

Glimmer finally dropped the hug and stepped back with a smile on her face and Adora got a good look at her. She was a lot shorter than Adora but she looked about the same age. She was very...well...cute for lack of literally any other word. Her hair was a mess of fluffy curls that were dyed a purple/pink. She was wearing pajamas that also happened to be in different shades of purple. And she had a very very eager look on her face.

"Soooo…" she said slowly, "you met my mom." Glimmer's expression suddenly looked very embarrassed and she spoke in a quieter voice, "Was she too weird?"

Adora shook her head, surprised. "Oh no! Angella was very nice!"

Glimmer giggled profusely at this. "Eeeewww don't say Angella that's weird! I believe her proper name is: mom."

"Well...I could.." Adora looked a little uncomfortable and Glimmer realized that maybe it was a bit too early for Adora to see Angella as her mother in any way.

"Oh...uh..or you could totally call her Angella! I mean what a pretty name, right? Why let it go to waste?" Glimmer chuckled awkwardly and then pulled a soft reset.

"Anyway, it is just great to meet you! I've been excited for months after we learned you were coming to live with us! Did you like the welcome sign?"

Adora nodded. "Yeah it was very...colorful! Thank you."

"Oh no problem. That's just how we roll around here, roomie! Have you looked around yet?"

"Oh no I actually haven't, see I was pretty tired and it's been a looong day and I…"

Glimmer grabbed Adora's hand mid-sentence and began to tug her towards the stairs. "Oh you just have to let me give you the grand tour!" she exclaimed excitedly.

Adora decided it was easier to just give in. She was now a prisoner to this purple bundle of love.

She let herself be tugged along as Glimmer hurried down the stairs and began to show Adora around. She made sure to mention even small features like a coat closet and "the little cabinet where we keep tools and stuff."

Adora made sure to look interested. And honestly, she was. She wasn't sure if Glimmer's cheerfulness was infectious or something, but it was actually kinda fun getting shown around the place.

Soon they made it to the kitchen.

"Here," Glimmer said with a sweep of her arm, "we have a wild mother in her natural habitat, making what she calls...food."

Adora snickered a little at this and even more so when Angella turned around with a death glare and Glimmer giggled and ran off with Adora in tow.

"Don't let her wear you out too much, Adora!" she called from the kitchen after them.

Glimmer carried on with the tour and showed her a guest bedroom, the garage, the laundry room and many more spaces that Adora doubted she would ever use. Adora looked out a sliding screen door at one point into the backyard and Glimmer caught her eyes wandering. She truly was a top notch tour guide.

"Oh that's the backyard. It's pretty much your average backyard," Glimmer explained.

"_Alright so they aren't like the super rich, pool in the backyard, kinda families. That's a relief." _Adora thought silently. She didn't need any more of a reason to feel like a charity case.

"Oh but we do have this sick hot tub! Surprise!" Glimmer slid open the glass door and pointed out a large hot tub sitting in the corner by the house.

"_Oh boy._"

* * *

After the tour the two girls were called to the kitchen for dinner. Angella insisted a dozen times that Adora could take a plate to her room if she wanted but Adora decided that it would be polite to eat with the family tonight, especially after they had been so inviting. Almost too inviting. Adora hadn't ruled out the possibility that they were serial killers yet.

But regardless, they were extremely nice to her, and Glimmer was even starting to grow on her. She was simply so likeable that she defied Adora's nerves. She had already grilled her on her favorite things and was noticeably upset that her favorite color wasn't purple.

Dinner was pot roast with mashed potatoes and a bunch of other little sides. Angella had asked Adora prior to picking her up today what her favorite meal was and it looked like she had remembered.

The sun had gone down and the three were gathered at the dining table. Glimmer was telling her mother about how Adora's favorite animal was a cat and many other things and Adora was simply enjoying the company. She had let her guard down a little bit and was deciding to try to take the new situation positively.

"So Adora what do you think?"

Adora looked up suddenly to find both Glimmer and Angella looking at her questioningly.

"Uhm...think of what?" She replied a little flustered.

"Oh the food I meant. I burnt the edges a little but I think I cut the worst of it off."

"Oh it's very good! Thank you for making it. And...thanks for everything. Both of you."

Glimmer smiled at her and Angella said, "No need to thank us. We're just glad that you're giving us the chance to get to know you. Now...who the heck is gonna eat all this pot roast because I made way too much!"

Adora's appetite had come back after her stomach had stopped feeling like it was twisting itself into knots and she gladly took seconds. She enjoyed the rest of the dinner. She offered to help clean up afterwards but Angella absolutely refused.

"Keep that spirit though! Maybe I'll put you to good work one day! Lord knows Glimmer won't volunteer." She then said goodnight to them both and said she would see them tomorrow.

After dinner the two girls went up to Glimmer's room, which was the last part of the house Adora hadn't been shown. And boy was it a sight to behold.

The walls were painted a soothing lavender, which could barely be seen due to all the posters and drawings covering the walls. The floor was pretty messy and all sorts of things were strewn out over a shaggy pink rug. And the whole room was bathed in a warm light from an old lamp that looked like a definite fire hazard.

"What do you think?" Glimmer asked as Adora looked around the room.

Adora smiled wide and looked back at Glimmer. "It's fantastic."

"Oh I'm glad you like it! I was gonna decorate your room too but mom said to wait until you got here."

"Well then I guess I have her to thank for not choking on a cloud of glitter when I walked in for the first time. That's sweet though. Thanks."

"Oh for sure. And I'll still help you decorate whenever you want!" Glimmer said excitedly.

"I might take you up on that, Glimmer."

Glimmer smiled and ushered Adora over by patting the bed next to her. Adora went over and sat by her new housemate.

_"She smells like frosting. Why does she smell like frosting?" _Adora thought to herself.

Glimmer, without a word, started brushing Adora's hair. At first Adora freaked out a bit, as this wasn't something anyone had really done to her before, however after a while she found it comforting. They sat like that for a while and then Glimmer broke the silence.

"Hey thanks for hanging out with me today. I know that you maybe weren't in the best mood for getting to know me and you might not be for a while but I just was real excited to see you. I didn't mean to rush things though."

Adora turned to face Glimmer (even though she was starting to really enjoy the hair brushing). "No Glimmer, I'll be honest I wasn't in the best mood today. It's just been a lot. And it still is a lot. All the change. I mean I've moved around before, but I was younger. And I had been at the group home for a while before being here. It's just gonna be a lot to adjust to. New house, new school, and a foster...family. It's so much all at once."

Glimmer nodded and put a hand on Adora's shoulder.

"But," Adora continued, "You and your mom have been the best thing for me in this situation, I think. I'm sure there are loads of bad foster homes out there, but you two have been so kind and thoughtful. And you managed to make me feel better tonight when I didn't really think I could. So thank you Glimmer." Adora smiled thoughtfully at Glimmer and she could have sworn she saw some tears well up in the pink-haired girl's eyes.

"Oh. And also. Could you keep doing that brushing?" she asked with a laugh.

"Of course, roomie. Your hair is so long and pretty. Oh and just you wait. I'll make sure you're as comfortable as can be while you adjust. Especially when you start at school next week. If anyone so much as looks at you funny I'll give em the ol' Glimmer Beatdown." Glimmer threw her fists at the air pretending to beat someone up and Adora laughed.

"Well I'm glad I already have a bodyguard, what more could a girl want?"

"Well just wait till I start charging you for my protection! It's a hefty fee to rent out these fists." Glimmer punched the air some more and then gasped. "Oh and just wait till you meet my friend, Bow! I've told him about you and he's very excited to meet you! You'll love him. Everyone does."

"I'm sure I will."

The pair spent the next few hours chatting into the night and getting to know one another. By the time they were done it was very late. Glimmer hugged Adora and wished her a goodnight and Adora walked next door to her room and changed sluggishly into some pajamas she had in her bag. She slid into bed, still holding the pink plush cat that Glimmer had given her as a "room-warming gift." She shut off the lights and, contrary to earlier in the day, found that her mind was not racing.

Adora quickly began to fall asleep in her new bed, in her new room, and in her new house. She noticed before she passed out that she already smelled like frosting and smiled to herself in the dark.

"_This might not be too bad."_

_**Hey guys! Wow I have not written a fanfic in quite some time and I'm really glad that the new She-Ra series motivated me to write again. I just could not stop thinking of a modern, high school AU with all the characters I loved from the show. Next thing you know I wrote up all this in a day. I already feel like this project is gonna be really fun for me and I'm glad I can share it with you guys! I am super busy this year but I am gonna make time for this because I forgot how much I loved writing. If I spend too long without updating make sure to yell at me because I refuse to give up on this series. I am super excited to play around with AU versions of these characters and the next few chapters are gonna be really fun (I am psyched for freaking Catra)! Anyway, make sure to comment and let me know what you thought! I would love to hear from you guys and get to know what you guys think. And you can tell me if I had like a typo cuz that's embarrassing. Anyway thank you guys for reading and I'm excited for the content to come!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK. _Adora's door threatened to break down under the excited fists of her new housemate and friend.

Glimmer yelled through the door. "Adora it's tiiime! I hope you're reeaady!"

Adora jumped in surprise as Glimmer loudly alerted her of the day they had planned. And Adora was...not ready.

She had been unpacking some of her things. It had taken her a few days to start putting her things in the room. For a while it just felt weird to take over a new space with all of her old things. But Glimmer had insisted that they make the place more homey and so, after some pushing, Adora finally was settling in.

She didn't have much in the way of decorations. She had a little mushroom lamp that one of her old housemates had given her when she left, one or those cliche "Hang In There" cat posters, a couple little knick knacks, and her small knife collection.

She wasn't hyper-violent or anything she just thought knives were cool. Glimmer had found it incredibly cool and mysterious and was convinced that Adora was a secret undercover agent or something.

Adora smiled at the thought as she put some of her stuff up on her nightstand. Angella had brought in a mirror and a desk for her room along with some other "necessities." She had also told her that anything she needed at all would be no problem and to just ask. Adora thanked her but knew that she would feel guilty asking for anything else.

Her room was already a mess but she didn't have time to clean it as she had promised Glimmer that they'd go out today. Glimmer wanted to help Adora pick out some new clothes for school and introduce her to her friend Bow, who she talked about a lot.

Adora had agreed even though she was just starting to get used to her new living space and wasn't super enthused about meeting people and going places just yet.

However, she knew it would make Glimmer happy and she also knew it was good for her to get out a little.

She would be forced to the next day anyway. It was Sunday morning and starting tomorrow she would have to start going to her new school. And to be honest she was trying not to think about that too much.

Adora threw on her favorite hoodie, red with white pockets and a white hood, and some sweatpants and took a deep breath.

She opened her door to see Glimmer already at the base of the steps throwing on a jacket. She spotted her and smiled.

"I didn't wake you up did I?"

"No I was just setting up my room a little bit."

Angella overheard this from the living room and smiled to herself. She was glad that Adora was starting to make the place her own.

The girls got ready and started to leave. Angella told them to have a good time and to be safe and handed each of them some spending money.

Adora frowned at the offer. "Oh no really I don't need anything I have s…"

Glimmer grabbed both her and Adora's share in the blink of an eye. "What our lovely Adora meant to say is thank you very much and she will gladly spend all of this on fun things! Thanks mom, bye!"

Glimmer tugged Adora out of the door and Angella just smiled and watched as they went. Adora was such a sweet girl. She just hoped that she'd be able to talk to someone when she needed something.

* * *

Glimmer's little car had like 20 Wild Cherry air fresheners in it. Adora wondered how she could get around without a constant headache. Adora looked over and laughed as she saw how close Glimmer's chair had to be to the wheel for her to reach the pedals.

"You need some phone books to sit on over there?" She joked.

Glimmer gasped and playfully hit Adora on the shoulder. "You said you wouldn't do the short jokes anymore!"

"Well I'll try but sometimes they're just too good!"

Glimmer scowled. "Oh yeah well just wait I'll start making like...blonde jokes about you."

"Oh really?" Adora said sarcastically, "Let's hear one right now."

Glimmer thought about it a bit. "Hmmm. Um. How many...uh...blondes does it take to screw in a lightbulb?"

Adora rolled her eyes. "How many?"

Glimmer thought some more before giving up. "I don't know probably like 10 or something. A lot. Cuz they're dumb. That's the punchline."

Adora laughed loudly at the attempt at a joke and looked over to see Glimmer giggling too.

"You'll get the hang of it I'm sure. Just give it some time. I'm sure one day you'll really get me. Bring me to tears."

Glimmer raised one fist up in a solemn vow. "I will train for this day."

The two laughed and chatted a bit longer and Adora got to learn some more about the town, Etheria.

"It's got all the usual town stuff I suppose. Really everything is pretty close to where we live. We're almost to the mall already. Oh and the high school is right down there." Glimmer pointed down a street they were driving past and Adora spotted a large school building in the distance.

Glimmer spotted the worried expression on Adora's face when she brought up the topic and rushed to reassure her.

"Hey don't worry about school. It'll be fine, I promise. It's pretty good as far as school goes! Sure you have your bullies and your bad eggs but other than that everyone is real nice. And hey, you're real nice! Everyone will love you."

"Thanks Glimmer. That makes me feel a little better I guess." Adora was still a little worried, but she decided that it would be better to burn that bridge when she got to it.

Glimmer turned up her playlist and sang loudly. Clearly she didn't care who heard her singing or how good it was. Adora smiled and listened along and soon enough they pulled up to the Etheria Central Shopping Center, the biggest mall Adora had ever seen.

"Wow. They have a movie theater...in the mall?" She asked in awe.

Glimmer nodded and parked the car. "Yep! Its got really cushy recliner seats too. We'll have to go some time! Did you not have a mall in your old town?"

Adora shook her head. "Not really. It was a small place. I mean I've been to a mall before but it's been a while!"

"Ooh well then this will be even more fun! C'mon!" With that Glimmer leaped out of the car and walked with Adora to the mall entrance.

Glimmer looped her arm around Adora's. "Oh and you're sure you're fine with meeting Bow and everything? He's super nice but I wouldn't wanna rush you to meet everyone I know."

"Yeah no that sounds fine! I would love to meet your friends. What's he like?"

Glimmer pondered the question for a bit. "I like to think that he started off just like the rest of us, but somewhere down the line he just embodied all that is pure in the world."

* * *

"Oh hey! Hey! Over here!" Glimmer and Adora had just walked into the food court when a guy stood up on the other end of the cafe and yelled for them to come over, waving profusely with a dumb grin on his face.

Adora reddened as people turned to look at who was making such a raucous and who he was yelling for. Glimmer, however, just smiled and waved back.

_"Maybe I can pretend I'm not with them," _Adora thought, embarrassed. But Glimmer still had her arm locked around hers and her excited friend hurried them towards Bow.

Bow was tall and lean with short, styled, black hair. And even though it was pretty cold outside, he was wearing a crop top, exposing his midriff. He had a kind face and as they approached, he smiled sweetly and greeted them both in turn. "Hey Glim! It's been too long."

Glimmer snorted in response. "Bow, it's been like 2 days!"

"And that is waay too long!" Bow chuckled and turned to Adora. His smile managed to widen even more than Adora thought was possible.

"And you're Adora, right?"

Adora nodded and awkwardly held out a hand for a shake. "That's me! Nice to meet you."

Bow took her outstretched hand and shook it very vigorously. "What a pretty name! Glimmer has told me sooo much about you! It. Is. So great to finally meet you."

"_Wow," _Adora thought as she shook his hand clumsily. "_And I thought Glimmer was high energy. No wonder these two are friends!"_

"Nice to meet you too," Adora replied as Bow finally stopped shaking her hand and ushered the pair towards the table he had been sitting at.

"I hope you two don't mind…" Bow waved his arm at the table revealing a small mountain of mall food, "I have prepared a feast fit for a queen! Or I guess three queens in this case!"

Adora's and Glimmer's eyes widened at the pile of cookies, candies, soft pretzels, and galore.

"Oh wow, Bow!" Glimmer exclaimed, "How much was all this?"

Bow waved his hand and scoffed. "Oh Glimmer, Glimmer, Glimmer. Money is temporary, but friendship is eternal!"

"Wow that was cheesy," Glimmer shook her head and went to sit down.

Adora sat next to her at the table and pointed out a strange amalgamation from the pile.

"What the heck is that?" she asked while inspecting it.

"Ah yes," Bow piped in excitedly, "that I picked out especially for you!"

"You just met me," Adora responded with a disbelieving smile.

"Sure, maybe I just met you, but that doesn't change the fact that nobody can turn down…drumroll please."

Glimmer instantly started rapping her fingers on the table rhythmically.

"The Deep-Fried, Cheese-Stuffed, Chocolate-Dipped, Mega Pretzel!" Bow exclaimed proudly.

"Oh my god," Adora said slowly, "I think we're going to be very good friends, Bow."

Bow smiled proudly and handed her the giant pretzel treat. "I will accept no less than best friends forever."

* * *

"You know maybe the food court friend feast was a bad idea," Bow said regretfully, clutching his stomach and eyeing the now empty tray before him.

"Maybe," Glimmer nodded in agreement, "I think the calories and sugar in half that pretzel alone was enough to give someone a heart attack. And I had three!"

"Ha!" Adora laughed an evil laugh. "You mortal fools. I lost count at 6."

Bow gasped and began to bow down to Adora.

Adora smiled and lifted a fist up in achievement.

"We are not worthy!" Glimmer howled in praise.

The three laughed together.

"So," Bow said, "I don't know about you two but I am ready to pick out some new clothes!"

"Oh boy," Glimmer sighed. "Adora I forgot to warn you about how much Bow loves getting new outfits. Especially ones without a middle! It's an unhealthy obsession."

Bow looked off into the distance forlornly. "It is my cross to bear. An addiction I struggle with everyday."

"He does struggle with it. I once saw him spend a whole paycheck ordering clothes online. All of it. Gone in a second." She shook her head slowly.

"There was a sale!" Bow exclaimed. "And I am much more responsible now."

"Well we'll see about that," Glimmer said in disbelief, "C'mon gang!"

Adora smiled and followed the pair as they got up and began to walk off towards the shops. She had been a little anxious about this trip this morning, but Bow was really nice and Adora was enjoying herself more than she thought she would.

"So Adora," Bow turned to her as they walked. "What's your favorite place to shop?"

"Oh...uh..like for clothes?"

Bow nodded in anticipation.

"Hmm uh well we went to Wal-Mart a lot I guess."

Bow laughed a bit, thinking it was a joke, before he looked at Adora and saw that she was serious. He suddenly looked embarrassed and tried to recover.

"Oh cool! Wal-Mart has some cool stuff!"

"Well I mean…" Adora stammered a bit and her cheeks reddened. "I didn't have like a ton of extra..you know income and stuff for like...anywhere nice..." She trailed off slowly and was looking at the floor.

Glimmer had been listening to the conversation fall apart and could feel Adora's nervousness building. She quickly grabbed Adora's hand and squeezed it tightly.

"Well hey we got mad stacks of mom cash and we can't let it go to waste! C'mon guys!"

Glimmer tugged her along and Bow followed and they ended up in the closest store.

Glimmer had been drawn to a purple tank top instantly and was asking Adora how it looked while holding it up to her.

Adora could tell that Glimmer was trying to make things less awkward. And that just kinda made it more awkward. She could also tell Bow felt bad and he kept opening his mouth to say something before closing it again and thinking some more.

"You know," Adora started with a sigh and turned to face Bow, who looked up, visibly nervous. "Its no big deal Bow, really. I'm not mad or anything I promise."

Bow looked relieved for a split second before his face returned to a mask of worry. "But...I shouldn't have...I mean I just didn't know and…"

"Exactly," Adora interrupted, "You didn't know and that isn't your fault at all. How would you have known? I was a little embarrassed. That's it."

Bow still looked upset but his frown lessened slightly. "You sure?"

"I'm sure, Bow. It happens all the time. And you're too sweet to mean anything by it!" Adora put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

Bow smiled a little and nodded. "Okay fine. But it won't happen again! And I'm still gonna feel bad about it and you can't stop me!"

"Well alright then if you insist."

Glimmer cheered and wrapped an arm around both of their shoulders. "This is great! You guys are great! Oh and Bow you got a little tear stream there."

"Oh I know. I will let it dry there as a symbol of my eternal apology."

Glimmer and Adora laughed at the goofy stoicism on Bow's tear marked face.

"Well that's all well and good guys but I really do need your opinions on this top," Glimmer said holding it up. "Like is the sparkle AND the rainbow too much?"

Adora and Bow looked it over for a few seconds, then at each other, and then replied, "Nah."

* * *

The friendly trio came out of another shop a few hours later with bags in their hands. They had spent the better part of the day looking around and getting school clothes.

"Well I think I'd call that a success!" Bow exclaimed, struggling with all his bags (of which he had considerably more than either of his friends).

"Well you are the expert," Adora said jokingly before ushering everybody over to a bench where they could sit for a while.

The three sat and watched people for a while, chatting idly. Glimmer got up after a bit and went to the bathroom. Bow and Adora took this time to get to know each other a little better.

"Adora how can you be a teen and not like coffee, I'm just still grappling with that."

"It's gross!" said Adora defensively. "It tastes like if you sucked all the happiness and love out of like hot cocoa or something."

Bow shook his head in amazement. "Even Starbucks?"

Adora nodded. "Even Starbucks."

"Wow. What secrets lie within your mind? What else do you hate? Probably puppies!? Sunsets!?"

Adora laughed and waved her hand at him dismissively. "I dislike the normal amount of things thank you very much. Coffee, the government, cold weather, bratwursts," Adora's eyes narrowed suddenly, "and freaking hyenas."

"Hyenas huh? Is there like a tragic backstory involving hyenas I should know about?"

Adora clenched her fist dramatically. "They laugh. While they work together to rip you apart. And then, finally, they kill you. They are evil beasts."

Bow laughed. "Y'know I never thought of it that way. Or really at all."

"This has been a PSA, Bow." Adora said and then noticed their friend coming back towards them. It looked like she was making hand signs at them.

"Oh hey!" Bow said spotting her. "There she is, the one and only. What is she doing?"

Adora squinted at the rapidly approaching Glimmer as she continued to wave her arms at them in some sort of motion.

"I thought you would know. Maybe...charades?"

Bow waved back and Glimmer scowled and just increased her speed towards them.

The two on the bench looked at each other, confused, and then grabbed their bags and stood up to meet her.

Glimmer didn't even break stride. She just kept walking past them with a "Follow me."

The pair followed quickly and they all took shelter in a Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

Bow was the first to question his friend, who had brought them to the back of the store and was trying to position herself behind a clothing rack.

"Glim, what the heck was that?" he asked, worried.

Glimmer sighed and slumped to the floor. " 'She Who Must Not be Named' and her gang of lackeys were coming right this way and I booked it."

Bow suddenly understood. "Ohhhh. Shoot, well that's the downside of this being the only mall in town. Did they see you?"

Glimmer shook her head. "No I don't think so."

"Well that's good."

Adora looked between Glimmer and Bow before butting in. "Uh… hey… new girl here. Who are these people? And who is 'She Who Must Not be Named?'"

"Well we wouldn't call her that if we enjoyed speaking her cursed name, but...you should know." Glimmer sighed again. "Basically just some jerks from school. Who are all friends and team up to form a mega jerk squad."

Bow nodded. "Yeah they like to think they run the school. In like a weird mini gang kinda way."

"Anyway," Glimmer continued, "I try to stay out of their way when I can, especially _hers._"

"Oh wow," Adora was learning a lot about her new friend all at once. "And uh… who is _her _again?"

"Oh yeah," Glimmer scoffs at the mention of the mysterious bully. "She's the worst of 'em. Her name is Catra."

_**Boom. Catra name drop. It's getting real now. Next chapter is gonna be the first day of school for Adora! I am super pumped and I have a lot of ideas for what happens next. Anyway thanks for reading and please let me know what you thought by reviewing or shooting me a message or whatever. I love feedback. Thank you!**_


	3. Chapter 3

It was Monday morning. The people of Etheria were heading off to work or school or wherever they needed to be. It was cool and windy and the leaves on the trees were turning orange and red and falling from the branches.

At Etheria Central High a lot was going on. Students were hanging out in the courtyard out front before school. Teachers were preparing classes for the day and getting their morning coffee. Cars were pulling in and parking, most all of them bad parking jobs.

And in one of these poorly parked cars there was a girl named Adora, ready for her first day at a new school.

And she was freaking out.

Just a normal day in Etheria.

"I've done the whole new school thing and the first day always sucks I'm telling you!" Adora said quickly while gripping the door handle and refusing to leave the car.

Glimmer was trying to talk her into just heading in. "Look, it'll be better if you just plunge right in and do it! School isn't too bad!"

Adora looked over at Glimmer, disbelief on her face. "Uh huh. Well I haven't even been in it yet and all I know is that you have freaking arch-enemies you try to avoid!"

Glimmer scoffed and waved her hand. "Well who doesn't have arch-enemies in high school?"

"Me! I go under the radar, Glimmer! Under! The! Radar!"

Glimmer smiled at Adora panicking. She wanted her to feel better of course but it was a little funny. She felt like she was dropping her kid off at kindergarten for the first time.

"Well hey we can still be 'under the radar' or whatever! Bow and I are super detached from most of our classmates. It's not like we have a huge friend group or anything. Just stick with us and you'll be alright." Glimmer leaned over and half hugged Adora as best she could.

_"She's right," _Adora thought to herself, accepting the hug, "_I have to just get in there and get it over with. I'm the boss. I am an unbeatable force of nature. And I can handle one day of high school."_

Adora slowly opened the car door and stepped out into the parking lot. She looked at the school building looming in front of her and puffed her chest out.

"Glimmer," she said confidently, "I am ready to do the school."

* * *

"This was a terrible idea and I want to go home," Adora whined, all of her confidence depleted in minutes.

Her and Glimmer had walked through the front yard together. While they were doing so, they passed a lot of people, all eyeing the new girl, and Adora instantly shrunk. Glimmer had quickly guided her over to a secluded table under a big tree where they now sat and waited for Bow before classes started.

"Adora it'll be fine, trust me! Would your old pal Glimmer lie to you? Would she?" She shot her glimmering puppy dog eyes at Adora.

Adora sighed. "Probably not...Unless she's been brainwashed by the public school system!"

Glimmer shook her head at the helpless case. "You have some deep seated issues with school that we really need to work out."

"Well it's not so much the actual school part. I mean, I love hours of math homework as much as the next girl, but it's the people that get me."

Glimmer cocked her head to one side and kept listening as she watched Adora look around and take in her surroundings.

"I moved around a lot when I was younger. And I went to a lot of schools. A lot of first days." Adora frowned a little to herself. "And there were good people at those schools, sure, but I only remember the bad ones. I mean I wasn't there long enough to make friends, but I was always there long enough to figure out who the jerks were. And by the time everyone had stopped staring at the weird orphan school girl...I had to leave again."

They sat there quietly for a little bit before Glimmer spoke up.

"Wow. That sounds...terrible. I...geez I can see where that could mess up school for you." She brushed her eyes quickly. "Wow it is way too early in the morning to be tearing up!" Glimmer giggled nervously.

Adora looked concerned suddenly. "Well don't go feeling sorry for me. It coulda been worse."

"Well I guess, but...it coulda been better too. Look," Glimmer looked into Adora's eyes. "Anything I can do to help you I will. That's a promise."

"Thanks," Adora smiled sincerely. "Whatever did I do to find a friend as supportive as you?"

"Well you moved into my house for one!" Glimmer elbowed Adora in the side playfully and the pair laughed.

"Oh and remember we have Chemistry together!"

"Well that'll be fun. Minus the chemistry part. I wonder if I have any classes with Bow."

"Well he should be here any second now. Classes start here soon." Glimmer looked around the yard and then smiled. "Speak of the devil."

Adora looked over to where her friend was looking and saw Bow walking towards them, dressed in one of the outfits he had picked out the other day, surprisingly one that didn't display his abdomen. He wore a tight fitting grey shirt with a weathered black denim jacket and black skinny jeans. He had put in new earrings that looked like two little crescent moons dangling from his lobes.

Glimmer waved him over and he walked over, greeted them both warmly, and took a seat at the table next to Adora.

"You look nice, Bow!" Glimmer said, evoking a proud smile from Bow.

"Oh sweet child," Bow whipped his head around dramatically, "I always look nice."

"You're not wrong," Glimmer conceded with a smile. "I was just going through Adora's schedule."

"Oh cool! Yeah we never got to compare!" He excitedly held his hands out towards the print out of Adora's schedule she had brought. "Gimme gimme gimme!"

Adora laughed and handed the sheet to him and he scanned the page voraciously. His face drooped lower and lower as he read and then eventually passed the sheet back to Adora in defeat.

"Not one class. Darn."

"Yeah that sucks," Adora said, disappointed that of the two people she knew in the whole school, she only had one class with one of them.

"We can all see each other at lunch though!" Glimmer chimed in optimistically.

"I suppooooose," Bow whined.

A timer suddenly went off on Glimmer's phone and she turned it off and looked at Adora with anticipation. "That's 15 minutes to class! Let's get you in there!"

Adora grumbled quietly and stood up from the table, surveying the unfamiliar territory. Bow and Glimmer flanked her and they all began to walk into the school. To Adora the front doors were like the mouth of a huge beast ready to consume her, but she shrugged off her fears and entered the building.

On the inside it seemed like a typical high school. There was motion everywhere as students chatted at their lockers and walked the halls. Adora could already smell the all too familiar aroma of floor cleaner and Axe body spray. She got a couple curious looks as she walked with her friends to where she assumed her locker was.

As they walked, Glimmer and Bow took turns pointing out things to her. They passed a bunch of classrooms, the gymnasium, and the cafeteria.

"That table over there is where we eat lunch everyday. It's a great table," Bow gestured to a table in the back corner of the cafeteria.

Glimmer nodded quickly. "Probably the best table in the school. We've basically marked it as our own. And you are formally invited!"

"I'm honored," Adora said sarcastically as the group carried on.

Finally they came to the end of a long hallway and walked up to a stretch of lockers.

Glimmer checked Adora's schedule one last time and then stopped in front of one of the lockers.

"We've arrived!"

Adora stepped up and opened the locker, after a couple times of failing the combination, and started putting her things in.

"Oh I have just the thing for this!" Bow exclaimed and rifled around in his pockets. He pulled out a sticker sheet and slapped one onto the inside of the locker door.

"Wow," Adora admired her new locker art. "It's a hot dog laughing."

Bow snorted. "Yeah I have more laughing food stickers where that came from! Let me know if you want a watermelon or a donut."

"Will do," Adora grabbed her stuff for her first class and turned to face her friends. "I'm ready," she said with determination.

They clapped her on the back and walked off to her first class together.

Across the hall, a pair watched them leave.

* * *

"And so, like, you know, I heard it was a really good movie and I don't know if you'd wanna like...see it sometime. We could just, like, go as... buddies... and eat popcorn but you know with separate buckets cuz, like, sharing...that would be weird right?" The tall and very muscular girl leaned awkwardly against a locker and looked at her friend hopefully, waiting for a response. She nervously scratched the sides of her head, which were shaved and there was a shock of dyed white hair on top. She had a black nose ring in and black eyeliner coated her eyes.

The girl she was talking to looked up from her phone. "Huh? Oh," the girl said distractedly, "Meh. Watching movies takes too long."

Scorpia looked surprised and then stammered to answer. "Oh Yeah! I mean why are they so long anyway? Like just make short movies, am I right?" The girl shuffled around nervously. "Yeah bad idea. But uh...we could still just...eat popcorn...in the same general, uh, space. If you want!" She held her breath in suspense.

The girl looked up again. "Yeah sure, Scorpia, we can eat popcorn sometime." She then looked back down to her phone.

Scorpia seemed oblivious to the lack of interest and congratulated herself silently while smiling widely. "Awesome! Well uh wow I guess I'll have to get like popcorn. Hmm. I guess just butter flavor will do. Are there different flavors of popcorn? Who knows really. I'll look when I'm at…...oh hey, Catra look at that."

Catra looked up, annoyed at first, and then surprised. The pair watched as their classmates, Glimmer and Bow, escorted a new student down the hall.

She had really long blonde hair that was tied up into a ponytail and she was wearing jeans and a worn white hoodie that was way too small for her. Her and her two friends turned and were now walking down the hall away from them.

Catra made an interested sound and watched curiously. "Well look at that. We haven't had a new kid in forever. And look she's already been claimed as a member of the loser squad."

Scorpia laughed, "Ha! Loser squad. That's funny, Cat."

The two studied the group a bit longer as Bow and Glimmer pointed out various features of the school and the new girl looked around, seemingly dazed.

Catra chuckled quietly at the sight. "Aww look at her," she said in a condescending tone, "She's adorable. Like a little chicken with her head cut off."

"Ha! Yeah true. She's friends with those two already? Wonder how that happened?

"Well," Catra said slowly, "we'll just have to ask when we introduce ourselves, now won't we?"

Scorpia nodded. "Oh yeah that sounds fun!"

Catra smirked crookedly. "It does sound fun, doesn't it?"

* * *

The bell rang loudly as Adora got up from her chair and grabbed her things off the desk. Her first class had gone alright. She had always liked History and her teacher was nice. And even though there had been a week or so gap between her transferring schools, it seemed that she wasn't too far behind on the material.

Initially, Adora had been scared that she would be introduced in front of the class or something, but the teacher had merely greeted her kindly as she had walked in. Bow and Glimmer had been right behind her, watching her enter and cheering her on like proud parents.

Adora smiled at the thought and took relief in the fact that this day was going way better than any first day she had ever had. Probably because she already had some friends to help her out.

Nobody had talked to her yet, and she wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. Regardless she was cautiously optimistic as she left the classroom and headed to her next class.

Bow and Glimmer had offered to walk her there in between class, but she had insisted that she could get there herself.

She was walking down the main hall, pretty certain she was going the right way, when she saw a student drop a bunch of papers over at their locker. She quickly rushed over to help, as she remembered all the times she had done this herself.

She began to pick up papers when a small voice called out to her. "Hey I got those! Leave em be!"

Adora looked up to see the student who had dropped her stuff and she was staring at Adora angrily with her hands on her hips.

The only thing Adora could focus on was how little she was, and not just in height. She genuinely looked like she belonged in middle school and couldn't have been older than 12.

Adora stood, staring and confused for a while. "Uh… so...you don't want help with these?" Adora held up the papers in her hands questioningly.

The little girl shook her head and grabbed the papers out of Adora's hands and stuffed them into her own arms, which already contained a bunch of her stuff. "Nope! Thank you very much, lady, but I can handle this."

Adora started to walk away when the small girl reached down to grab a book off the floor and the papers in her arms all fell out again. She gasped and Adora heard her start to swear under her breath as she scrambled to collect everything again.

Adora looked around and realised that a lot of kids were already in class and that she could be late if she kept trying to help this girl. Not to mention that she didn't even want help. But Adora took one look back at the girl and how distressed she looked and couldn't help herself.

As Adora started picking up the things, the girl opened her mouth, looking as if she was going to snap again, but then thought better of it and silently began collecting her stuff as well.

"Do you have like a backpack or a binder or something?" Adora asked as they gathered up the last of the mess.

The little girl frowned. "Well I do. But...I forgot it at home today."

Adora looked at her sympathetically. She looked so helpless with her arms full of homework and wearing her big puffy coat.

"_Like a sad, cranky pill bug," _Adora couldn't help but think.

"Well hey," Adora assured, "how about you just take my backpack for the day?"

The girl scoffed. "I don't want your charity backpack!"

Adora had to stop herself from laughing at the angry child. She slid her pack off her shoulders, took her own few things out, and dropped all of the student's things into the bag, holding it out to her.

"C'mon just take it," Adora said earnestly.

The girl thought about it a bit and then the bell rang, signalling that class had started and they were late. She sighed and took the bag.

"Thanks," she said quietly, and put the rest of her things away.

"Of course," Adora smiled, "you can give it back tomorrow morning. I'm new here so I won't have much to put in there anyway."

That seemed to make the girl feel better and they began to walk off towards the classrooms together.

"I'm Adora by the way," she said as they walked quickly.

"I'm Frosta. Thanks for helping me, again. I'll see ya around." She smiled a little and went off towards a classroom labeled, "Accelerated Learning."

Adora smiled to herself, glad that she had helped. She picked up her pace and got to her next class, English, in under a minute. She was only a few minutes late. She took a deep breath and pushed open the door, stepping in.

As expected, every pair of eyes in the class turned to look at her, including the teacher's, and she froze up in the doorway.

The teacher frowned slightly at being interrupted, but then seemed to recognize that Adora was a new student and her expression lightened.

"Ah," she said, "you must be my new student. Welcome to class. Did you get lost on your way here?"

Adora shuffled nervously and she felt her face get hot. "Er...yes ma'am."

"Please, call me Mrs. Weaver. It looks like there's a seat open over there. I won't count you late today but I'd recommend getting a guide if you can't find class."

Adora nodded and quickly walked over to an empty desk and took a seat, starting to take notes as the lecture continued.

In the desk beside her, Catra was pleasantly surprised at the dropping in of the curious new student. And even more so when she came to sit right next to her. She grinned as the girl settled down and started to write in her notebook.

She peeked over towards her desk and watched her scribbling notes down.

_"Seems like a try-hard right off the bat," _she thought and looked down at her own note page, which was blank, _"but that could just be in comparison to me." _

Catra peered over at her again, watching as she focused on her work. She was still jotting down notes, chewing on her lip as she did.

Catra looked her over slowly and spoke before thinking, as she prided herself on doing.

"Hey new girl," she whispered softly.

Adora's eyes widened slightly and she looked over at Catra, nervous, and then to the front of the classroom to make sure the teacher hadn't heard.

Catra smirked smugly at her reaction and saw that Mrs. Weaver was still lecturing, uninterrupted.

Adora furtively glanced over at Catra again and waved with a small smile.

Catra shot a toothy grin back at the unassuming girl as she slowly began to turn back to her notes.

"Woah there," Catra whispered again, "You ignoring me already?" Adora looked up again, checked to make sure nobody was watching, and looked over at the girl again.

She was smiling at her, her canines slightly pointed. This and the look in her sharp amber eyes gave her the appearance of a predator toying with her prey. She had tufts of wild brown hair that sprouted out around her head like a wild mane. She was slim and wiry, her body seemed poised in anticipation. Everything about her confused Adora and she stared at her for a while, her mind blanking as the girl smiled at her.

"What?" Adora finally blurted out in a confused whisper. "I'm...my name's Adora. Uh…do you maybe wanna talk after class, or..." she trailed off, looking into this strange girl's eyes, not sure how to appease her.

Catra snorted at the suggestion. "Why not talk now?" She suggested slyly.

Adora stalled a bit and looked around again to make sure nobody was listening, before responding very quietly, trying not to look at the girl too much.

"Well I'm just kinda busy now is all and I don't really wanna get…"

Adora was cut off by the raised voice of Mrs. Weaver from the front of the classroom.

"Well, Adora, first you interrupt the class with your tardiness, and now you feel the need to talk with your classmates while I'm trying to teach."

Adora stared wide eyed at the teacher, apologetically, and tried to form an excuse but couldn't get one out. To her side she heard the strange girl try to hold back a laugh, and failing badly, as her cackling emanated noisily, her body shaking as she laughed.

Mrs. Weaver found the situation less comical. "And you," her eyes shot daggers into Catra and she immediately stopped laughing, but a big grin remained on her face. "I expect this from you. I'll see you both after class."

Adora looked down, embarrassed and ashamed, as all of the students slowly went back to their note taking and the teacher carried on. Not a minute later, Catra leaned over slightly and whispered to Adora once again.

"The name's Catra. Nice to meet you, Adora." She said, her voice a mocking whisper, then leaned back in her seat with her arms folded behind her head.

Adora gasped slightly at the mention of the girl's name. Catra.

_"So this is Catra. The jerk who Glimmer is afraid to even be seen by. Now I get it._" Adora angrily worked for the rest of the class.

Catra took a line or two of notes, but mostly just stared at the new girl. She had looked surprised when she had learned Catra's name. And then very mad.

_"Makes sense I guess," _Catra reasoned to herself. _"I did just get her in trouble on her first day...but what do I care? Scorpia was right. The new girl's gotta know who's in charge."_

Catra leaned back in her chair again and watched Adora work some more as the last of the red in Adora's cheeks started to fade.

* * *

"Now, I hope you both understand I will not tolerate disturbances in my classroom." Mrs. Weaver crossed her arms and gave the two students before her a firm look.

Adora nodded apologetically. Catra just stared.

Mrs Weaver sighed. "Detention. Both of you. Friday after school."

Adora frowned and Catra chuckled at the look on her face.

"Now Adora, I hate to give you a detention on your first day, but I can't start making exceptions."

Adora nodded glumly. "I understand."

Mrs. Weaver shifted her gaze over to Catra, who met her stare. "And you are familiar enough with the detention room that you might as well just go every Friday."

Catra glared at the teacher and Adora could feel the animosity between the two.

The teacher promptly dismissed them and they turned to leave. As they walked out the door, Catra leaned over to Adora and said, "Guess I'll be seeing you Friday, new girl."

Adora just looked at her with a scowl. Catra smirked. "It's a date," she said slyly as she strutted down the hallway away from Adora.

Adora fumed as she watched her go.

_"Great. First day, first detention, and first bully. Great start."_

Adora slumped off to lunch, already hoping for the day to be over, and already dreading Friday afternoon.

_**First day of school is halfway done! I'm doing it in two parts. It was extremely hard not to have Adora and Catra have a ton more interaction, but I just thought it would be more realistic this way. And there will definitely be a ton of them in the next few chapters. Very excited. I'm gonna try and slow burn this as much as I can. Anyway thank you guys for following the story and reviewing! Excited to put out part two!**_


	4. Chapter 4

Bow was eating a hot dog when Adora slammed her tray down on the table in frustration and he nearly choked.

"Mmph! Adora!" He greeted her amidst his own coughing as she took a seat angrily. "Wow. You look...less than happy," he said slowly.

Adora frowned and opened up her pudding cup silently.

"Oh no. It's a pudding first kinda day." Bow moved chairs so that he was sitting next to her.

"There, there," he patted her shoulder as she sadly ate her pudding. "Let the pudding heal your emotional wounds."

Adora nodded and drowned her misery in the chocolatey substance. Bow shook his head at the sight.

"You want a massage?" Bow offered.

Adora started to say no but then decided against it and nodded slowly.

Bow started rubbing her shoulders and she quickly decided it was the single best massage of her life. "Bow?" She asked.

"Yeah?" He responded as he dug into her back with his palms.

"Are you a masseuse?"

He chuckled. "Well I'm flattered but no. Just got the right touch I guess."

Adora was enjoying the massage as Glimmer walked up to the table. "Uh oh. I see an empty pudding and a legendary Bow massage, what happened?"

Adora just sighed, "I was late to class. Got a detention. Met Catra. And not in that order.

Glimmer's eyes narrowed at the mention of Catra's name. "Catra," she hissed. "What did she do?"

"I don't know it wasn't even all her fault I guess. But she wasn't exactly sympathetic for getting me into a Friday night detention."

Glimmer growled and looked around the lunch room for Catra.

"Can I eat now, Adora?" Bow asked as he continued to rub Adora's shoulders.

She exhaled deeply before answering. "I suppose. But I hope you know that you're my go-to masseuse now!"

Bow smiled at his new responsibility. "Maybe I should start charging."

The two were interrupted as Glimmer got up and began marching over to a table where Catra and some of her friends sat.

"Oh shoot," Bow muttered and stood up from the table to follow. Adora saw what she was doing and jumped up quickly, grabbing her wrist.

"Glimmer it's not worth it. She's just trying to mess with the new kid," Adora said in an attempt to calm her friend down.

Glimmer shook her head and tugged against Adora's grasp.

"I'm used to it. I can handle her. Trust me." Adora let go of her wrist and Glimmer stayed where she was.

Glimmer measured the options in her head and finally sat back down at the table, still upset. "Fine. I guess it'll be good to have the element of surprise anyway. And then if she messes with you again...Glimmer Beatdown!" She made a chopping motion at the air.

Adora smiled and Bow looked very relieved that things hadn't escalated.

"Yeah let's make that Glimmer Beatdown a last resort," Bow said, easing back into his seat. "But really, Adora, if she keeps messing with you we can always go to the Principal or something."

Glimmer agreed and Adora nodded. "Alright. _If _it gets worse I'll let you know. Let's just hope I don't have any other classes with her."

"We can hope," Glimmer said. "Other than that has your day gone alright?"

"Yeah for the most part. Oh I was late to class once but that was cuz I was helping this one girl. She seemed pretty nice...and small."

"Look at you!" Bow exclaimed. "A white knight if ever I've seen one!"

"Yeah that's so nice. What was her name?" Glimmer asked curiously as she mercilessly drowned a chicken nugget in ketchup.

"I think she said it was Frosta or something."

"Huh," Glimmer said, "must be an underclassman."

"Oh yeah!" Biw exclaimed suddenly. "I thought that rang a bell. That's that real smart kid who got pushed up to high school this year."

"Pushed up?" Adora questioned.

"Yeah she like skipped a grade or two or something."

"Well that would explain why she was so little. Anyway she was really the only other person I talked to besides, well, Catra."

Glimmer made a sound at the name. "What did she say?"

"She just introduced herself I guess. Wouldn't have been a problem if it hadn't been in the middle of class. And if she hadn't laughed when I got yelled at. Not to mention that she's mean to you."

"Yeah what a jerk," Glimmer pounded her fist on the table. "Man I'm gonna go get another milk. I deserve two milks. I'll be back." Glimmer got up from the table and walked off towards the kitchen.

Adora ate and listened to the sounds of the cafeteria for a while. It was really loud. Students shouting and talking at every table. Light shone in from the wall of glass windows lining the cafeteria. The blue sky and wispy clouds made Adora yearn to be done with school and get outside again.

She scanned the cafeteria and didn't realize she was looking for Catra until she spotted her. She was sitting at the table amongst a bunch of people. She was saying something and then it looked like everyone laughed, especially the big girl sitting next to her.

Adora studied Catra for a while. Watching her speak. Watching how the side of her mouth curled up when she smiled. And how she kept biting her nails. Adora wondered why Catra felt the need to mess with people. Was it just a power thing?

"Whaaaatcha lookin at?" Bow asked from right beside her.

Adora jumped, surprised, and responded quickly. "Nothing."

Bow smiled to himself. "Alright sure," he said sarcastically.

Oh hey, I never really asked," Adora said thoughtfully. "Have Glimmer and Catra always disliked each other or did something happen or…"

"Well," Bow said slowly, "you'd have to ask her...but they weren't always like this," Bow sighed. "They used to be friends."

"Wow," Adora said thoughtfully. She couldn't imagine the two as friends. But then again, she had practically just met them both.

Glimmer came back with her milk in hand. "Yo," she said as she plopped down at the table.

Adora wanted to ask about her and Catra, but decided there had been enough drama for today. Instead the three just chatted about school and other things until lunch ended.

* * *

After lunch, Adora went to her Chemistry class with Glimmer, where they told each other jokes about the table of elements and chatted. And also did a little learning. It was a pretty fun class with Glimmer there and Adora decided it wouldn't be too bad.

When Chemistry was done, Adora finally got to go to the one class that she was actually looking forward to: Weights. She went back the way where she had seen the gym and was able to locate it without issue.

She walked into the Weights room beside the gym and saw several students sitting around talking. The teacher had been rearranging the dumbbell rack when she saw Adora enter and turned to her.

She was a behemoth of a woman. She wore workout gear that showed off her rippling muscles and muscular physique. Glimmer and Bow had told Adora that this was Ms. Huntara and described her as "awesome in a terrifying way."

"Hey there! Adora, right?" The giant woman walked over to her and Adora nodded in response.

"Well, Adora," she continued, "The locker rooms are through that door. Here's your combination for the lock." She handed Adora a slip of paper and pointed out a door at the corner of the room. "You look like you got some tone already, huh?"

Adora smiled, "Yeah I took weights at my old school too."

"Fantastic," Ms. Huntara clapped her on the back and Adora stumbled forward from the strength of the contact. "You a hard worker, Adora?"

"Uh yeah I guess so," Adora said without much confidence.

"Well then welcome to the team! Go get changed, we'll start here soon."

Adora walked to the locker rooms, passing a few classmates who were looking at her, curious about the new kid. Adora was used to those looks at this point and carried on.

This weight room looked way nicer than the one at her old school. There the students had to wait to take a turn at the benches and weights because there weren't enough to go around, but here there were tons of supplies and it looked like a mini gym.

For one of the first times that day, Adora felt comfortable. Working out had always been a sort of stress reliever for her. She could just be on her own and she always felt better afterwards.

Adora excitedly opened the door to the women's locker room, which she had also not had at her old school. They had just changed in the weight room with the door closed and thrown their stuff in the corner.

_"This is awesome," _Adora thought as she looked around the room approvingly.

The place was spacious with lockers lining every wall. There were benches in front of the lockers and the room branched off into what looked like a set of showers. It was empty except for one girl sitting in the corner, rifling through her locker.

Adora instantly recognized her as the girl who who had been sitting at Catra's table. The tall, strong-looking one who always seemed glued to her side.

Adora wasn't sure what Catra's friends thought of her but she wasn't super eager to find out so she tried to be as quiet as possible as she slunk over to her locker. Luckily the girl was humming loudly and didn't seem to notice. Adora put in her combination and then winced as the locker squeaked loudly upon being opened.

The girl perked up at the noise, looked over at Adora, smiled and waved, looked back at her locker, paused, and then did a double take as a look of familiarity settled on her face.

"Oh hey!" She said loudly, her voice echoing slightly off the walls of the room. "You're that new girl, aren't you?"

"Well yeah that's me," Adora said awkwardly, not sure where the conversation was going.

Scorpio squinted her eyes and stared at Adora for a bit, before shrugging. "Well, uh, I'm Scorpia. It's nice to meet you!" Scorpia grinned widely.

Adora couldn't help but smile back, a little confused. "Hey, I'm Adora, nice to meet you too."

"So first day, huh? How's it going?" She sounded genuinely curious.

Adora was still surprised at how nice she was. She had expected a heartless bully, but instead she seemed pretty sweet. "It's gone...alright. Started a little rough but it's getting better."

Scorpia nodded. "Ain't that just the way. And a detention on your first day! That's gotta suck."

"Yeah," Adora started, "How did…"

"Catra told me," Scorpia said quickly, "She's kinda my best friend. Trusts me with all her secrets. Lifelong bond kinda thing. No big deal." Adora could hear the pride in Scorpia's voice and it was obvious she cared deeply about the girl.

"Well you two seem pretty close," Adora said slowly and Scorpia nodded rapidly in agreement. Adora decided to just go out on a limb and ask an open question. "Do you know if she, like, hates me or something?"

"Oh!" Scorpia looked surprised at the question. "Well I don't know if…"

Scorpia was cut off by a rolling chuckle that ricocheted off the walls, originating from the entrance to the room. "Oh I wouldn't say she hates you!" The two girls looked over to see the owner of the sarcastic voice that was addressing them both. "Not yet at least," Catra said with a sly grin as she walked over to Scorpia.

Adora shot the girl a glare as she walked in. Catra strolled over and rested her elbow on Scorpia's shoulder. "Woah!" She exclaimed mockingly, locking eyes with Adora. "Now what did I do to deserve that stink eye of yours? You're not still mad about what happened in class earlier are you?"

Adora gritted her teeth. "Well that wasn't a great start to the day, no. But I'm not particularly mad about that. I've got other reasons to not like you."

Catra rolled her eyes. "Oh boy I bet it's Glimmer, huh?" She waited for a response and kept going when Adora didn't give her one.

"She probably told you _all _about how evil I am. And how she has it so hard." Catra mimicked Glimmer's voice mockingly.

Adora's expression didn't budge in the slightest and Catra walked over to her slowly until she was right in front of her. She stood over Adora, looking down at her as she sat on the bench. "Truth is," Catra said with a grin, "I'm really quite nice. Right Scorpia?"

"Oh yeah! For sure! You're super nice. Probably the nicest person I know!" Scorpia backed up her friend enthusiastically.

"See!" Catra gestured at Scorpia, "I'm a real stand up gent. And maybe if you actually got to know me instead of taking someone else's word for it, you'd realize that."

Adora stared up at Catra. She had a smug look on her face, but come to think of it, Adora was pretty sure that was just her resting face.

"Yeah no thanks," Adora said defiantly, "I think I'll take Glimmer's word for it."

Catra's eyes narrowed in annoyance for a brief second and Scorpia started to stand up, but then she smiled again and backed away from Adora, appearing unfazed. "Well we'll see, new girl. With us sharing two classes and an afternoon this Friday, we'll be seeing a lot of each other. Maybe you'll realize I'm not as bad as your friends make me out to be." She then walked over to her locker and Scorpia turned back to what she was doing.

Adora gulped quietly as she stuffed some things into her locker and quickly changed, first making sure nobody was looking. She shot a look over at Catra, who's back was to her. It was just her luck that Catra was in the same class as her. Again.

Adora shoved the rest of her things in the locker and left quickly back towards the weight room.

When she left, Scorpia immediately looked over to Catra. "Hey she seemed pretty mad at you. You okay, Cat?"

Catra scoffed. "Of course I'm okay. What do I care if the new kid doesn't like me?"

"Yeah good point," Scorpia affirmed her friend. "Seems pretty lame anyway if she's hanging out with Glimmer and Bow."

Catra grunted in response and the two left the locker room together.

Out in the weights room, Ms. Huntara had everybody sitting in the middle of the room and the bell rang as Catra and Scorpia walked out.

"Alright," the teacher said loudly, "we're all gonna welcome our new classmate. This is Adora."

A couple students greeted her and Adora smiled and waved around the room uncomfortably.

"Now today is our free day so I'll leave you all to it. If you have any questions I'll be in my office." She gestured to her office, where Adora could make out a private bench press squeezed in beside a small desk.

The class dispersed and Adora looked around a bit. She made a point of staying clear of Catra and Scorpia, who went over to the treadmills together.

Adora tried out some of the equipment and settled into a good workout cycle. During this, she kept a wary eye on Catra and Scorpia. She soon realized that Scorpia was a big lifter and Catra was a big...talker. She ran on the treadmill for a while, but usually she just spotted for Scorpia or sat around. Adora disregarded them and continued her work out.

* * *

Catra was holding Scorpia's feet down as she did sit-ups when her eyes darted over to the new girl. Again.

She was working on the lateral pull bar. Her arms were raised up, grasping the bar dangling above her head, and her muscles strained as she pulled the bar down below her chin, lifting what looked like way more weight than Catra would be comfortable with.

Catra stared at the girl, almost in a daze, as she continued to release the bar and pull it down again, arms pumping and sweat glistening on her skin and dampening her tank top.

Catra suddenly heard a noise beneath her and snapped out of it, looking down to see Scorpia. She was looking at her expectantly.

"Uh," Catra responded, confused, "what?"

Scorpia looked up at her from the ground and smiled, panting lightly. "I asked what my count was."

"Oh," Catra laughed nervously, realising she had lost count. "Uh...83." Catra guessed wildly.

Scorpia nodded and mumbled to herself thoughtfully. "Wow that felt like less. Better start upping it." Scorpia held out her arm and Catra pulled her up.

"Hey," Scorpia said, studying Catra, "you alright? You seem a little distant."

"You know," Catra said quickly, "I think I just ran a little too much. After lunch and all."

Scorpia looked concerned and began to suggest ways to ease her stomach. Catra remained distracted as Scorpia offered to get her a ginger ale or rub her back, and before long the bell rang and class was over, Catra still deep in thought.

* * *

Before Adora knew it, she was walking out of the doors of the school with Bow and Glimmer, holding all of her books and papers in her arms. Adora let out a sigh of relief and Glimmer laughed and clapped her on the back.

"You just conquered your first day of school. How does it feel to be a champion?"

"It feels…very tiring," Adora replied. "But to be honest, I don't think I would have lasted a second without you two. Thanks guys."

Bow and Glimmer let out an "Awwww" in unison as the three walked across the courtyard out to the parking lot.

"Well hey that's what friends do!" Bow exclaimed sweetly. "We need like matching shirts or something. We need to be those kind of friends."

Adora scoffed at the thought of the three of them rolling up in matching tees.

"Now hold up," Glimmer said slowly, "that's actually genius I think."

Bow pumped his fist in success and Adora rolled her eyes, a grin plastered on her face. She was glad to be done with school, and even more glad to be with her new friends. As crazy as today had been, it could have been a lot worse. She thought this as she laughed with her friends in the parking lot, the afternoon sun glowing above and the cool air nipping at them.

"Oh you know what else would be cool?" Bow asked the girls. "A handshake. Like a secret handshake."

"What is the point of a secret handshake, exactly?" Adora asked.

"Well people will see us do it and they'll be like 'wow look how tight those guys are! What a cool handshake! I wish I was them.' It would be so cool." Bow said confidently.

Against some better judgement the three spent the next ten minutes coming up with an overly complex three way handshake.

"We got it down now," Bow said joyfully, "Just you guys wait. This is the future of friendship, I'm tellin ya."

"It feels more like the future of flailing my hands around," Adora said sarcastically and the three laughed.

Glimmer sighed and looked at her phone. "Well we better get home. I got a ton of homework!"

Adora nodded in agreement at this. She already had her work cut out for her.

"Oh fine," Bow said, "but we're gonna have to all hang out sometime again. Maybe this weekend? I'll wanna hear all about how that detention goes!" Bow flashed a grin at Adora.

"Aw man why you gotta remind me?" Adora whined.

"I just like how we're friends with a troublemaking rebel now. Detention on the first day. Legendary." Adora playfully shoved him and he laughed.

"I'm sure it'll go fine," Glimmer assured. "But we should hang out together for sure. As long as that's good with you?" She looked to Adora.

"Sounds great," Adora said warmly.

"Aaand cue handshake," Bow said and the three shook amidst giggles before parting ways.

* * *

Catra sat alone in the courtyard at the front of the school. She was waiting to be picked up, and as she waited she watched Bow, Glimmer, and the new girl, Adora, as they laughed and did something weird with their hands.

Catra focused on Adora, watching her face as she laughed. It was too far to make out details and Catra felt like a stalker so she quickly looked away, but her mind remained on the new girl as she tried to figure out exactly how she felt about her. She ended up thinking about it for the rest of the night.

_**That's the first day down! Catra got a little thirsty in that weights class. Gears are turning. Good stuff. This first week is important so I'm gonna hit each day and just have some days be shorter so it doesn't get tedious. Gonna have some fun stuff. Again if you have any reviews or suggestions or just wanna say hey feel free to message me. Thanks for reading! Have a great day!**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Tuesday**

Tuesday morning started how it normally did for Adora. A loud knock on the door and the sound of Glimmer's voice yelling for her to get up. Adora didn't mind. She didn't have an alarm clock or anything so Glimmer made sure to wake her up every morning at the right time.

Adora stretched as the sunbeams cut through her curtains and lit up her room, illuminating the new addition to the walls.

The night before, Adora had been working on her homework when Glimmer had started to open the door. She then muttered an "oops," closed the door again, and knocked.

When Adora told her she could come in, the girl ran in with a big poster all rolled up. Adora had asked what it was and Glimmer unrolled it quickly. It was just a massive poster of...Shakira.

Adora had laughed at the reveal for some time before questioning why Glimmer had it. She had just said, "Why is not important. This has long been a centerpiece in my room, but now it is your turn to wield the power that is this poster."

Adora couldn't argue with a delivery like that so she just shrugged and proceeded to help put it up on her wall.

And now this morning, Shakira smiled down at her approvingly. Adora had literally never heard one Shakira song, but she could already feel a connection. Adora rubbed her face tiredly and started throwing her clothes on, going through her morning routine.

After getting ready, she went downstairs to find Angella and Glimmer sitting at the kitchen table and talking about a tv show or something while eating cereal.

Angella had to leave for work soon, but it seemed like she always took this little bit of time in the morning to sit and eat with Glimmer. Adora sat down with them and grabbed a bowl for herself.

"Good morning, Adora! Get enough sleep?" Angella asked sweetly.

Adora nodded, grabbing a box of Fruit Loops and overflowing her bowl.

Angella smiled warmly. "Well good. Oh I meant to tell you! I'm grabbing you a phone today and I was wondering if you wanted anything in particular?"

Adora frowned and put her spoon down. "I really don't need a phone, Angella, really. Thank you though."

Angella looked at her, concerned. "It wouldn't be any trouble at all. And I don't have to get anything too fancy if you don't want it."

Adora's frown deepened and she shook her head.

Glimmer watched the interaction curiously, saying nothing.

Angella still looked like she wanted to ask again, but conceded. "Alright. If you ever do decide you want one just let me know. Or anything for that matter! Anything you need, Adora." She patted the girl's hand lightly.

"Thanks," Adora said graciously, smiling kindly at her foster mother before going back to eating her cereal.

Angella looked at her watch and shook her head. "Alright girls, I gotta head to work." She got up and shrugged on her suit jacket, heading for the door. "I love you both! And I hope you have a better day today, Adora!"

Adora had told her about her day over dinner the other night. Angella had felt very bad for Adora, and had promised they'd find a way to cheer her up after her detention on Friday night.

The girls waved goodbye and Angella left. The door hadn't been shut for half a second before Glimmer confronted Adora.

"Alright, you," she said pointing a spoon at Adora across the table. Adora looked up, her mouth full of loops.

"What's up with the whole phone thing? And like the money thing for the mall the other day? Glimmer looked at Adora questioningly.

Adora sighed, "I don't know. It just doesn't...feel right?"

Glimmer narrowed her eyes in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know I just feel bad asking your mom for things. Or when she gives me things. It just feels like I'm… I don't know…a burden."

Glimmer sighed. "Yeah I thought so. You know you're not right? Like if she couldn't do these things for you she wouldn't ask."

Adora nodded. "Yeah I know...I'm sure I'll get over it eventually."

Glimmer nodded in affirmation. "I hope so! Just _think_ about the phone for now. I could send you all my memes, Adora. You can't miss out on that."

Adora laughed. "I'll think about the phone."

"You should! Plus my mom's like super loaded." Glimmer said.

"Yeah what does your mom do exactly?" Adora questioned as she picked up a cereal box and tried to solve the puzzles on the back of it.

"Oh she like manages an insurance firm or something," Glimmer waved her hand dismissively. "She's like way up there. Sounds boring as all get out but she likes it and it pays good!"

"Yeah it must," Adora said looking around the house.

The girls chatted some more before washing their bowls and heading out the door, heading to Glimmer's car. It was a small, black car shaped like a cube. Glimmer was very attached to it and had dozens of bumper stickers attached to the back and sides. She had pink fuzzy dice hanging from her rearview and a bunch of wild cherry air fresheners hanging all around the interior.

Glimmer patted the wheel lovingly as they hopped in.

"Good morning ol girl," she whispered to the car, and the pair started to drive off to school.

* * *

Adora was a lot less worried going into school this time. She already had a pretty good grasp of where everything was and she was pretty sure that the worst was out of the way.

Hopefully.

She had just walked into the front doors, arguing with her friends about whether pancakes or waffles were better, when she saw someone run up beside her.

Adora turned and instantly recognized the young girl with the poofy coat as Frosta. She was holding a backpack, Adora's backpack, up to her earnestly.

"Oh hey!" Adora said as she accepted the backpack. "Frosta, right?"

"That's me," the girl said looking at her feet. "Thanks again I guess for the backpack. I'll...uh… I'll find a way to repay you."

Adora smiled. "You don't need to rep…" Adora started, but Frosta was already speedwalking away through the sea of students.

"Wow," Bow said slowly. "She owes you like a life debt now, I bet."

"Don't be ridiculous," Adora chided him. "It was just a backpack."

"She did seem real thankful though," Glimmer acknowledged. "Maybe she'll save your life when you least expect it or something. Like a little guardian angel." Glimmer smiled at the thought.

"Guys stop it," Adora chuckled. "She'll probably just forget about it cuz all I did was give her a backpack."

"Yeah we'll see," Bow said. "Freshman are weird."

* * *

Adora got to go to her first class almost excitedly. It was an art class and Adora had always loved art. She wasn't great at it, but she had a soft spot for it and was excited to start. She walked in and took a seat at the table with the least amount of people, which was her go-to move.

There was only one other girl at the table with her and she was doodling in her notebook as Adora settled down. The girl looked up upon hearing her and smiled widely at Adora.

"Hey! You're new right?" The girl asked, her wild blonde hair flowing around her head as she moved. Her smile was bright and her eyes were lively as she anticipated Adora's response.

Adora nodded. "Adora. Nice to meet you," she stuck out her hand for a shake.

The girl reached out and sandwiched Adora's outstretched hand in between her own hands and held them there. She spoke smoothly and softly as she stared into Adora's eyes. "Perfuma. It's great to meet you. I like your energy."

"Uh..thanks! I like your energy...also," Adora said awkwardly.

Perfuma laughed melodically and finally uncupped Adora's hand. "Thank you, Adora. What brings you to Etheria High?"

Adora answered instinctively. "My parents travel for work a lot," she said quickly, but convincingly. It was a well oiled response. One she had used for a long time.

Perfuma accepted the answer and seemed to understand. "Oh wow that must be a lot of transition for you! But I'm glad you've found your way here. It's an alright place. For a government run prison that is."

"Oh," Adora said, confused. "Yeah definitely," she nodded without fully understanding.

Perfuma stared at Adora and grinned slowly. "I think we'll be good friends, Adora."

"That sounds good! You, uh, you like art?"

"Oh I looove art. Pure expression. It's so beautiful, don't you think?"

"Yeah it's very pretty! I'm not great at it though."

"Well the class will help with that I'm sure. Everybody has a message in them trying to get out. Sometimes you just lack the tools to give it a voice."

"That's a nice way of looking at it," Adora said nicely as the bell rang.

Class started and the teacher, Mr. Hawk, began to illustrate the joys of artistry to them. He talked very loudly and it was pretty jarring, but at least he was very passionate about his work.

The rest of the class went by pretty quickly. They didn't really get the chance to make anything, but they learned about the materials and such. Adora talked to Perfuma off and on and decided she liked the girl. She was a little...alternative, but she was extremely kind. And she smelled like flowers so that was a plus.

Class ended before too long and Perfuma waved goodbye to Adora as she left. "See you next time!"

Adora waved back and headed to her locker. Today was already a much better day for her. She was certain that the absence of Catra had some part in that. She weaved through the sea of students and managed to find her locker amidst the chaos. She opened it, finally remembering the combo without having to look at it, and put her sketchbook back.

She smiled at the sticker Bow had put in her locker and started to close the locker and leave when a hand pushed past her and slammed her locker shut. Adora looked over, confused, to the person who had shoved it, and came face to face with a girl she vaguely recognized as someone who sat with Catra at lunch.

The girl was smirking at her and leaned against Adora's locker. She had dark brown hair that ended in dreads and went down to her shoulder. She wore a lot of black leather and Adora could hear it squelch as she crossed her arms. A boastful look rested on her face and she seemed to be daring Adora to make a move.

Adora just shot her a look. "Wow, nice to meet you too," Adora said, annoyed at the uncalled for hostility and she started to walk off.

The girl grunted in annoyance behind Adora as she turned. "Well don't you need something from your locker?" she asked petulantly, eyeing Adora.

"Nope. I have programming next period. Nice try though," Adora said over her shoulder as she kept walking away down the hall.

Adora heard a growl from the girl and suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder that grabbed her and pulled her back. Adora frowned and turned around to face the girl again. She looked upset now and was gritting her teeth angrily.

"What?" Adora asked of the girl. "What do you want?"

"I was just messing with you new kid. But then you had to go walking off on me," she said angrily. Adora watched as the girl fumed, and deciding she didn't want any part in this, turned and started to walk away again. She was not about to start something this early.

The girl grabbed her again, rougher this time and yanked her back around. Adora was starting to get mad now and prepared to tell her off when a voice came from behind her.

"Uh, wow, Lonnie," the voice lulled slowly from behind them and the two looked to see a big girl with her hands on her hips. "This is, like, a new low even for you. Like, messing with the new kid? Pretty cliche."

Lonnie scoffed at the interference. "How about you mind your own business, Mermista? Or we'll see how cliche it is for me to deck you right here." Lonnie turned to face the girl and Adora looked between the two quickly.

"Oh woooooooow," the girl, Mermista, droned slowly, seemingly unimpressed by the threat. "Please don't. Oh I'm scared. I can already feel the pain," she said sarcastically. Her face was flat and seemingly emotionless as she stared right into Lonnie's burning eyes. Adora bit her lip, worried about where the situation was going. Lonnie just scowled intensely.

"You little…" Lonnie pointed a finger at Mermista angrily and took a step towards her. Adora clenched her fist as she advanced, not wanting to be in this situation at all, but willing to help this girl if she needed it. Several kids in the hall around them looked over to see what would happen. Everyone in the immediate area seemed to hold their breath.

And then, suddenly, Scorpia stumbled over into the middle of the group, breaking the tension as she looked around awkwardly before tapping Lonnie on the shoulder. Lonnie whipped around angrily and then looked immediately confused as she saw Scorpia.

"What do you want, Scorpia?" She asked gruffly.

Scorpia scratched the back of her head awkwardly. "Uhhhh. There's a...uh...I need...uh…" Scorpia stopped and frowned, "...can you just come help me with something?. She said to Lonnie quickly in a hushed voice.

Lonnie was so confused by this that she seemed to forget about why she was mad. "Fine. I guess I can, weirdo," she said distractedly before turning back to Mermista and Adora. "I'll get back to you two later," she huffed before walking away, Scorpia following her.

Unbeknownst to anyone watching, Scorpia shot a little thumbs up across the hall while walking away. Catra, who was watching closely from her locker, smiled widely. She shot a thumbs up back before turning proudly and walking to class, hands in her pockets.

Adora just watched Lonnie and Scorpia walk away and shook her head slowly, not understanding how a girl as nice as Scorpia could make friends with the meanest girls in the school.

"Darn," Mermista said lazily. "To be honest I think we could've laid her out easy. Oh well."

Adora chuckled at this and Mermista smirked a little. "Well, I'm Mermista. Not, like, a great way to meet you, but whatever."

"I'm Adora. Hey thanks for helping out," she said graciously.

"No, thank you. I laughed sooo hard when you walked away from that loser. Also Lonnie's the worst. And, like, also I guess I couldn't just leave you to handle it alone."

"Well thanks anyway," Adora said, "I'm gonna head to class. Talk to you later?"

"Sure thing. And if Lonnie ever tries that again, I'll be, like, right over here." Mermista ran a hand through her long black hair and smiled at Adora.

Adora looked at her with admiration and then nodded and walked away. She went straight to her next class, sat down, and tried to process how crazy all that was.

_"What was that girl's problem?" _Adora thought to herself and rubbed her temples slowly. _"There's so much drama at this school. And this is only day two!"_

Soon, class started and she tried to focus, all the while wishing that Glimmer and Bow were there to tell her who the heck Lonnie even was.

* * *

"Oh Lonnie is a huge jerk!" Glimmer yelled loudly, causing some students at nearby tables to look over in surprise. "I swear I'm gonna have to fight the whole lot of em!"

"You always wanna beat people up, Glim. Maybe you should try talking your way out of problems." Bow said calmly.

"Bow my body was made for fighting, not loving. This is a fact," she replied coldly.

"Well I don't know if…" Bow retorted and was quickly interrupted by Glimmer.

"Fact!" She said loudly. "I wish I had been there. It's a good thing Mermista was there. She's so cool."

"Now that's a fact," Adora pointed out as Bow nodded in agreement. "And Bow I don't know how well talking it out would have worked with Lonnie."

"I'll give you that," Bow agreed before sighing wistfully. "She was nice back in grade school. She gave me her milk one time because I was crying."

"Awww," Adora crooned softly at the thought of a little Bow crying.

"But nowadays if you were crying," Glimmer said angrily, "she'd probably laugh and spit in your face."

"Woah, well I don't know about that, but yeah she is really mean now. She's always beating up on that Kyle kid."

Glimmer looked confused at this. "Kyle?"

"Yeah, you know, Kyle! He's that sweet guy who hangs out with Catra's squad even though they don't treat him great." Bow explained to Glimmer, who still seemed deep in thought.

"Hmm. I think I know who you're talking about... Maybe."

Bow sighed in defeat. "The whole school called him 'Cootie Kyle' in the 4th grade."

With that, Glimmer's face lit up in recognition. "Oooh! 'Cootie Kyle!' Yeah I know him."

"Okay, well," Adora interrupted, "Kyle sounds great and all but can someone tell me why Lonnie has it out for me? I feel like half the students in the school have a vendetta or something."

"Hmmm," Bow scratched his chin, "I don't think she has a reason."

"Other than just being a jerk," Glimmer added. "If I had to guess, I'd say Catra put her up to it." She shot a look over at the table where the whole group sat and Glimmer scowled.

"You think?" Adora questioned.

"Well who else? Catra basically runs that whole little gang of cronies," Glimmer explained.

"Maybe," Adora said and then continued when Glimmer looked at her, questioningly. "Well I didn't really tell you guys all the details, but the other day when I figured out Catra was in my gym class, we talked a bit."

Glimmer and Bow nodded, listening intently.

"And it got...a little tense. I mean it was mostly because of me. But it seemed like she was trying to...I don't know...get to know me better? She wasn't friendly by any means, but she wasn't mean I guess. Not like Lonnie at least."

"Well then she's tricking you," Glimmer said firmly. "She's just as awful as Lonnie, but worse because she can hide it. She can make you think she's your...friend or something and then turn on you in a second." Glimmer clenched her fist and Bow and Adora looked at each other, concerned.

"Well," Bow said cautiously, "you should probably just stay away from both of em. Really just that whole group seems to want a piece of the new girl."

Adora frowned and glanced over to the table where Catra and her friends all sat. Sure enough, they were in the same places as yesterday. Adora did notice that Lonnie wasn't there though. She dismissed it and went back to her lunch.

Glimmer was ripping her straw wrapper into dozens of little pieces and only stopped when Bow changed the subject.

* * *

The rest of the day flew by. Adora didn't have any classes with her friends, or even anyone she recognized.

She stayed pretty quiet. She usually didn't speak unless she was spoken to, and didn't really talk to anyone else for the rest of the day. She wasn't upset about this, and found it rather relaxing after the crazy events of the day.

Class slipped by, Adora collected her things from her locker uninterrupted, and now she was riding back to her foster home with Glimmer.

Glimmer was perusing the music stations on the radio and Adora was rubbing her own biceps, trying to alleviate her sore muscles after weights the other day.

"Hey, Glimmer," Adora questioned, looking over at her friend, who's pink hair was all over the place due to the wind.

Glimmer turned down the radio and looked over.

"I was wondering...what happened with you and Catra?" Adora left the question hanging and Glimmer sighed lightly.

"It's not much of a story," Glimmer said. "We used to be...close. And now we're not."

"So you were friends?" Adora confirmed.

"Well...yeah I mean a long time ago. And then it just went bad."

"Wow. It must have been pretty bad for you both to still hate each other." Adora desperately wanted to know what exactly had happened, but she didn't want to be pushy.

Glimmer just nodded in response. "Yeah it wasn't a fun time. But the moral of the story is: don't trust Catra."

"Well I have that one down," Adora said as she looked out the window and watched Etheria blur past.

* * *

That night, Adora and Glimmer did homework together and watched as many Harry Potter movies as they could before they fell asleep on the couch.

Angella walked into the living room and found them laying on the couch, splayed across one another and fast asleep. A smile spread across her face as she unfolded a clean blanket and laid it across the sleeping girls.

She shut off the movie, surprised they had gotten to the fifth one, and watched the girls sleep for a moment. Angella felt happier than she had in a long while.

"Oh Micah," she whispered to herself in the darkened living room. "You would have loved this." She brushed a small tear from the corner of her eye and lightly kissed both girls on the forehead before going to her own bed, still smiling to herself.

_**A sweet little end. These chapters are super fun to write. Plus I get to use a lot of my own experiences in writing this stuff. Pretty cool. Anyway, next chapter will have a lot of Catra so be prepared. Excited to see where this goes! Thanks for reading and feel free to shoot me a message anytime!**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Wednesday**

"Did you do something with your hair, Cat, cuz it looks, like, really good today!" Scorpia reached out to pet Catra's hair and her smaller friend shooed her hand away.

"Scorpiaaaaa you know how I get about the petting," Catra whined, and scooted a little further away on the bench they were sharing. They were in the courtyard in front of the school and were enjoying the warm weather while it lasted. Catra couldn't stand the cold and she was becoming increasingly upset that the seasons were changing.

"Oh sorry," Scorpia chided herself. "I know you hate the petting." She scooted a little closer to Catra to cover the lost ground.

"It's fine," Catra said, staring at the morning sky and enjoying the sun on her skin. "And also I didn't do a thing to my hair. I, like, never do."

"Oh well," Scorpia said, playing with her fingers clumsily. "It must just be your natural radiance!"

Catra chuckled warmly and the two sat and watched students go about their morning business.

Scorpia looked over at Catra. She was wearing her maroon jacket and her black leggings with the little tears in them. It was simple, but it looked good on her.

_"Then again," _Scorpia thought to herself, _"everything looks good on her."_

She had her necklace on that she always wore. It had a big cat claw on it that rested in between her collar bones. She was watching a bird hop around on the sidewalk and was biting her nails consistently. Scorpia knew her friend well enough to know that when she bit at her nails, she was deep in thought about something.

"Sooo," Scorpia said slowly, "whatcha thinkin about?"

"Uh…" Catra started and then shook her head. "Nothin' important." She continued to nibble at the tips of her fingers.

"Well," Scorpia changed the subject, "I was wondering when you'd wanna do the popcorn party!" Scorpia looked over at Catra excitedly.

She looked genuinely confused. "The what now?"

"Oh you know the popcorn? You know the other day I was all like 'let's go see a movie' and you were like 'meh' and I was like 'oh good point' and then I was like 'well let's just eat popcorn together' and you were like 'that sounds fantastic!'"

Catra thought a bit before nodding slowly. "I remember...some of that. You just wanna eat popcorn together?"

"Well yeah!" Scorpia exclaimed joyfully. "You could…you know...come over to my place or like I could go to yours and we could just… eat popcorn. And like chill or whatever." Scorpia looked down at her feet so Catra wouldn't see her face turning red.

Catra didn't notice and just laughed. "Well that's really weird. But sure. When?"

Scorpia smiled widely as Catra accepted. "Let's do it Friday after your detention!"

"Sounds good. I'll need some popcorn after that. We can do your place. Just pick me up from here when I'm out." Catra said, checking her phone.

Scorpia was overjoyed. "Awesome! Yeah I'll pick you up! Wow this'll be fun!"

Catra snorted at the girl's anticipation before hopping off the bench and stretching her legs. "Well we best get in there. Kyle said I could cheat off his homework again."

Scorpia laughed. "Classic Kyle," she said as she stood up beside her friend and they walked in together.

* * *

Catra sat in her usual spot in Mrs. Weaver's English class. She was doodling in her notebook when she heard the door open and looked up quickly. One of her classmates walked in and sat down and Catra looked back down again.

_"Calm the hell down," _she mentally scolded herself as she tried to convince herself that she wasn't waiting for Adora.

The door opened again and she fought the immediate urge to look up. Unable to resist, she slowly peeked upwards and saw that it was Adora. Her long hair was braided in the back and she had her hoodie on.

Catra watched as she walked in and sat down. In a seat far away from Catra. In fact, it was probably the furthest possible seat. Catra shook her head, angry at herself for feeling a tug of betrayal.

_"What does it matter where the new girl sits? I don't care!" _Catra berated herself and shoved back anything she may have felt. _"She literally has no reason to sit next to me anyway." _Catra reasoned.

She became determined to distract herself and started drawing a little picture of herself riding a dinosaur. That helped a little. Soon class started and Catra took some notes, but mostly just drew more dinosaurs.

Catra did alright in school and English came kind of naturally to her so she didn't pay much attention. Her key to success was to accept being average, or even below it.

She did like reading, but Mrs. Weaver made everyone read old stuff like Shakespeare and the like and Catra loathed it with a passion. And Romeo and Juliet made her livid. Those dumb teens. She didn't get how any idiot could be so in love that they'd kill themselves over it. And they had just met each other! It all seemed so ridiculous.

Luckily, Catra could ignore all of it and still get a passing grade. And she could always get homework from Kyle. Catra stretched back in her chair and shot a passing glance over at Adora.

Adora was looking at the board and looked over when she saw Catra move. The two locked eyes for a second before awkwardly looking away. Catra frowned to herself and kept drawing dinosaurs.

By the end of class, she had drawn more dinosaurs than taken notes. Before packing up and leaving, she drew a huge meteor hurtling towards her small army. She chuckled at this contentedly and got up from her desk as the bell rang.

She saw Adora leaving the room and picked up her pace to catch up to her, slowing down as she got up beside her to make it look like she hadn't tried.

"Hey, new girl," Catra said with a sly grin.

Adora looked over at her and then at the ground and walked off quickly in another direction. Catra let her go and stood in the hall watching her leave.

* * *

"Kyle, what the heck," Catra growled, gesticulating wildly at the paper in front of her. "Your handwriting is terrible!"

Kyle looked over sheepishly and brushed his shaggy hair out of his eyes. "Oh," he said, sounding hurt. "I thought my handwriting was pretty."

"Well it is, Kyle, that's the problem! Who writes in cursive!?"

Scorpia laughed, sitting on the other side of Catra at their lunch table. "Yeah and all your i's have hearts at the top," she laughed some more, looking over the paper.

Kyle grumbled something to himself quietly. His friend Rogelio patted him on the shoulder to console him.

"Thanks, man," Kyle said and took a big bite of square pizza.

Catra sighed and continued to try to decipher Kyle's writing. She periodically looked over to check the lunch line that winded into the kitchen. After a bit she leaned over to Scorpia.

"Hey," she said under her breath, "can you go ask that guy who's sitting alone over there if he wants to have the last seat at our table?"

Scorpia's eyes lit up. "Oh wow, Cat, that's so nice! What a heart of gold!" Scorpia got up and strolled over to the table Catra was referring to.

Catra watched as the boy looked scared at first, but then slowly got up and walked over to the table, following a proud looking Scorpia.

He sat down and eyed the people at the table nervously. "Hey guys," he said quietly. The rest of the table waved back and Catra smiled smugly.

Moments later Lonnie walked up to the table with her tray in her hands. She stopped suddenly as she saw another kid sitting in her seat, one she had never seen before.

The confusion in her face turned to anger as she marched towards the new kid. He saw her and started to stand up, but Catra stopped him.

"Woah!" Catra said, standing up, "Lonnie what are you doing?"

Lonnie looked at her incredulously. "What the heck is this guy doing in my seat?"

Catra gasped. "I'll have you know this is a new friend of ours!"

Lonnie narrowed her eyes. "Who?"

"Well," Catra started, "this guy…...What's your name?" Catra asked the scared looking kid.

"Darren," he replied quickly.

"Yeah this guy, Darren," Catra continued, "is super cool and you can't just go kicking him out of his spot!"

"Well then where do I eat?" Lonnie asked.

"Shoot I don't know. Maybe over there?" Catra pointed to another table far away.

Lonnie looked over at the distant table and then back at the group who just shrugged and sat there quietly.

"Well fine," she said, upset, "but I want my seat back tomorrow." With that Lonnie walked off and Catra plopped back down in her seat with a content sigh.

"Poor Lonnie," Scorpia said as she walked away. "She always sits there. No offense Darren." She said to the kid.

"Uh. None taken?" He was still confused at why he was here and why he had been plunged into this drama.

"Yeah what sparked that sudden act of goodwill, Catra?" Kyle asked the girl as she continued to copy homework while eating an apple.

"Oh I don't know, _Kyle_," she said his name with disdain, "maybe I just have a good soul and I'm a great human being. You should try it sometime."

Kyle frowned and Rogelio put a hand on his shoulder once again.

Catra went back to her work and the table mostly ate in silence for the rest of lunch.

* * *

Scorpia and Catra stood at a counter wearing long, white aprons with flour coating their arms.

"You're doing that wrong, Scorpia, you gotta be aggressive! Lemme see that." Catra grabbed a chunk of dough from Scorpia and started punching it into the countertop, laughing at how fun it felt to obliterate the dough.

Scorpia smiled. "Well the instructions don't say to beat it up," she said as she held up the recipe sheet to read it.

Catra snatched the sheet from Scorpia's hands and threw it onto the ground. "Look," Catra said to her friend, "do you think anyone ever got anywhere by following the rules?"

Scorpia paused. "Uh...yes?"

"Wrong!" Catra exclaimed triumphantly and punched harder into the dough. "We've been in this class for, like, more than a month! It's time we make our own rules."

"Well it's just a pizza, Cat," Scorpia said, a goofy grin on her face as she watched Catra beat the dough while preaching life lessons.

"No, Scorpia," Catra said, looking at her confidently, "it's OUR pizza."

Scorpia laughed and conceded. "Oh fine. What do you wanna do then?"

Catra gestured to the pile of mangled dough. "Well for starters, punch this. It lets out a lot of pent up rage."

Scorpia took a few swings into the dough and chuckled. "Yeah okay that feels pretty good," she admitted.

"That's right it does! Keep hitting it and I'll make the sauce." Catra walked over and started chopping tomatoes while Scorpia punched the dough loudly, causing their Culinary Essentials teacher to look over, concerned.

Catra cut the tomatoes up as best she could and stared at the pile, not sure what to do next. "Hey," she said, tapping her friend on her burly shoulder. "How do you make pizza sauce do you think?"

Scorpia laughed and picked up the recipe from off the floor, holding it out to the girl. Catra hesitated for a moment and then grabbed it quickly.

"Maybe this one time," Catra said regrettably. "But next time we will make our own rules!"

"That sounds super great, Cat," Scorpia said affectionately as she watched the girl start preparing the other ingredients.

* * *

After Culinary Essentials, Catra dragged Scorpia to their weights class without a stop in between. This surprised Scorpia as her friend was usually less than enthusiastic about working out.

"You're really eager for weights today, huh?" Scorpia questioned.

Catra just nodded and they kept walking. "Maybe you could actually lift today!" Scorpia said excitedly.

"Eeeew," Catra groaned. "No thanks. I'd just be all sore and sweaty and gross."

Scorpia waved her hand dismissively. "Oh you wouldn't look gross! You'd look great sweaty!" Scorpia paused, questioning what she had said. "I mean...not like great. Like just normal! Like how a normal person would look when sweaty! So just plain sweaty, I guess," Scorpia finally cut herself off from her rambling and Catra looked back at her curiously.

The two continued walking, giving Scorpia time to recover. They made it to the weights room way before the bell had even rung and the pair waved to Ms. Huntara as they walked in and headed towards the locker rooms.

As they entered the room, Catra scanned the area. There were a few students changing, but none of them were Adora.

Catra told herself once again that she was just here early because she had nothing better to do, and she sat down in front of her locker.

Scorpia sat over on the other side of the room and got her gym clothes out. She looked around nervously, eyes momentarily landing on Catra, and walked off towards the cubicles in the back of the room to change in private.

Before too long, the door opened and Catra saw Adora walk in and sit down out of the corner of her eye. Catra sat on the bench for a bit, and then took a deep breath and got up and walked over.

Adora could hear feet shuffling over to her and instantly knew who it was. She looked around quickly for another place to go, but Catra was there beside her before she could make up her mind. Catra put a leg up on the bench and leaned down beside her. Adora avoided her gaze and tried to continue going about her business.

Catra scoffed at Adora's silent treatment. "You know it's real cute how you think just ignoring me will work," Catra said sarcastically. She waited for a response but didn't get one so she continued.

"We're gonna be in these classes together for the whooole semester. You gotta learn to move on." Catra said, quickly tiring of the one-sided conversation.

Adora turned her head away and tried to focus on her locker.

"Oh wow. That's cool. Real great convo," Catra said, and Adora could hear the annoyance in her voice. It seemed like the silence had really gotten to her. Catra waited there for a bit longer before slowly backing up from Adora and shaking her head.

She slunk back to her locker and Adora turned a little and watched her go. It almost seemed like she was upset about it. But maybe she was just annoyed that her teasing hadn't had the effect she was looking for. Adora sighed and quickly changed before leaving the room.

Catra just sat on the bench for a while and fumed. There were few things she hated more than being ignored.

_"Why can't I just get over this girl?" _Catra sat racking her brain. _"Why do I keep trying to talk to her!? Clearly she thinks I'm a jerk. Which...is not even entirely wrong."_ Catra rubbed her brow slowly.

Scorpia walked in, done changing, and sat beside her friend, who she noticed was biting on her nail stubs again. "Hey are you alright?" She asked, worried.

Catra stood up suddenly. "Yeah I'm fine. Let's get in there."

Scorpia knew something was up with Catra but she wasn't sure exactly what. She thought it might have something to do with Lonnie. That would explain why she had been acting so weird to her. Or maybe it was all this stuff with the new kid and Glimmer being a jerk still. She wasn't sure yet, but she was determined to find out.

The rest of class went by very slowly. Catra seemed a little distant the whole time and Scorpia couldn't seem to get through to her. Catra ran on the treadmill for most of class. She ran harder and faster than usual and by the time she got off she was covered in sweat and her legs were wobbly.

She hobbled off into the showers before the class had even been dismissed and got cleaned up. She let the cool water hit her face and run down her body. It cleared her mind a bit and gave her a moment to think.

She was sick of beating herself up about Adora. There was no point in trying to get someone to like her when they already hated her from the start. Even if just the sight of her made Catra shiver a little.

_"So what she's cute?" _Catra thought angrily and slammed a fist into the tiled wall in front of her, cracking her knuckles painfully. _"She thinks I'm a jerk so I might as well be one."_

Catra turned the heat up and let the water burn at her skin, stinging her as it washed over her, but easing her nerves nonetheless. The burning became almost unbearable and she grimaced in pain before turning the nozzle down again so that it was a nice cool temperature.

She took a deep breath and tried to get a level head. _"Just leave her alone," _Catra told herself. _"She doesn't wanna be messed with and you can't keep bothering her. Or doing this to yourself." _Catra sighed and made up her mind once and for all.

She was just going to have to forget about the new girl.

Catra figured it wouldn't take too long. She hardly knew her and attraction faded over time. She would just have to wait it out. She'd ignore her during Friday's detention, which should be easy, and she wouldn't approach her in the classes they shared.

Catra closed her eyes and let the drops of water stream down her face. _"Forget about her," _Catra repeated to herself. _"It will be better for both of you if you just leave her be."_

Catra stayed in the shower up until she was forced to leave. When she did, she finally felt sure about what to do. She just hoped she'd be able to do it.

_**Okay that chapter was super fun. Catra is a joy to write. It's fun taking certain aspects of the characters from the show but also adding in a lot of my own stuff. A lot of this kinda draws from my own experiences and it's fun to add that in. Anyway I'm super busy, but I still have a lot of stuff I'm working on for the story and I'll try and get it out ASAP. Oh also Season 4 of the show was announced and I'm super excited! Might get to add a new character in maybe. Thanks for reading and I love seeing your reviews and everything! Have a great day! **_


	7. Chapter 7

**Thursday**

School on Thursday went fine for Adora. Her classes weren't too bad on those days. She was pretty exhausted from the week, but managed to get through her day without anything crazy happening.

She talked more to Perfuma during her art class and figured out that she was pretty cool. She did a lot of peaceful protesting and seemed to know a little bit about everything.

She was fun to talk to and Adora was starting to look forward to her art class even more. She was trying to think of ideas for their first painting and was excited to start.

At one point in the day, she had been talking to Bow and walking to class when Lonnie had walked by her and rammed her shoulder into her. It didn't hurt too bad but she had dropped all of her stuff. Lonnie had kept walking, laughing as she did. Bow helped her pick everything up and made sure she was okay like a thousand times before letting her go to her next class.

Adora was just thankful that she didn't see Lonnie often. She figured if she just kept to herself and continued to ignore her and Catra, they would eventually leave her alone.

She could hope.

Catra had been even more confusing lately. Adora couldn't quite place where that girl was coming from. She was a nuisance for sure, but she seemed different from Lonnie.

Catra wasn't really mean to her exactly, she just poked and prodded and wouldn't leave her alone. It confused Adora to no end.

But regardless, Adora trusted her friends, and if Glimmer said that Catra wasn't to be trusted, then Adora wasn't about to go making peace with the strange girl.

Adora was becoming more and more nervous as it neared Friday, and Glimmer could definitely tell.

That's why she had suggested that they all head out to what her and Bow called, "The Big Lake."

And now, after school, the three were riding up to the lake in Glimmer's car. Glimmer was playing acoustic guitar music that she said would put them in the outdoorsy mood. Bow was in the backseat practically vibrating with excitement as they neared the lake.

"I come here all the time with my dads!" He said excitedly, adjusting his fishing cap that he had made Glimmer drive by his house to get. It was one of those old bowl hats with a bunch of lures hooked onto it. "There's fishing spots, and swimming, and camping areas, and like trees, and, uh, what's that word for when you, like, walk but it's in the woods?"

"Hiking?" Adora asked.

"Hiking! All the hiking!" Bow threw his hands out in excitement and Glimmer smiled.

"Yeah Bow always loves when we come out here," she told Adora. "Do you like outdoorsy stuff?"

"Yeah for the most part," Adora said. "I like nature. It's real peaceful and quiet. I wanna live in a log cabin someday."

"Ooohhh I do too," Bow clambered up between the front seats, stretching his seat belt to its limit. "How 'bout we all just live in a log cabin in a mountain somewhere!"

"You guys can have your log cabin," Glimmer said, "but I wanna live in a beach house. Where I can wake up to the ocean every day." Glimmer looked off wistfully.

"Ooh that sounds nice too," Bow agreed. "Tell you what. You two can get a log cabin and a beach house and your old pal Bow will just take turns going between your houses and mooching off of your things."

The girls laughed at the thought and Bow sat back in his seat. Glimmer turned onto a dirt road with a sign that said Etheria Lake and the three looked out the windows and saw a deep forest around them. The afternoon sun glinted through the trees that were tinted shades of orange and red. Sun rays lit up the bed of autumn leaves that coated the ground.

Adora let out a small sigh upon seeing it. She hadn't been in a forest in a long time and it was beautiful out. Being out here already made her feel less stressed. Here she could forget about school, and Lonnie, and Catra, and detention, and all of it.

"Big Lake here we come!" Glimmer exclaimed and sped up. Bow cheered and Adora smiled and rolled down the window, letting the cool breeze roll into the car, tossing her long, blonde hair around her face.

They arrived at the lake in a few minutes and Glimmer parked the car. The three got out and looked out at the water.

"Wow," Bow said, in awe. "That's a lot of wet."

Adora snorted. "You are such a dummy, you know that?"

"It's what gives me my charm," Bow said proudly. "Now what do we wanna do?"

"I wanna catch a fish and kiss it's face," Glimmer said determinedly and clenched her fist in a silent vow.

"Good idea! I love fishing," Bow grabbed some poles out of the back of Glimmer's car that he had also gotten at his house. "I know a great spot too! Right this way." Bow walked off around the lake and Glimmer and Adora followed.

As they walked, Adora poked around at the worms in the bait box. She frowned. "Am I the only one who gets sad that we drown the worms alive and wait for them to be eaten?"

Glimmer and Bow both said "no" at the same time.

"I cried so hard when I went fishing for the first time," Bow said, "Poor worms."

Glimmer nodded. "Yeah I cried too. But mostly because I fell in the water and got covered in mud. Mom laughed so hard." She smiled fondly at the memory.

Adora wished she had had someone to take her fishing. But at least she had friends now who were more than willing to take her out.

They got to Bow's spot and it did look pretty nice. It was on a little peninsula sticking out into the water and had good shade from a big oak tree sitting in the middle of the landmass.

The friends made their way to the shore and set up a blanket under the tree. "Alright," Bow said, "Fish time."

He set up the poles and then handed them to Glimmer to put the worms on the hooks. "See I think I'd still break down if I had to spear the worms myself so I let Glim do it," he explained.

Adora nodded in admiration. "So brave. Thank you for your sacrifice."

Glimmer nodded her acceptance and got the worms on, after saying sorry to each one. She then gave the poles back. "Alright," she said, pointing out, "I'm aiming for that bit over there. That looks like prime real estate."

Glimmer winded back and cast her line. Adora watched as the bobber flew through the air and landed in the spot she had claimed.

Adora looked over her own pole, not entirely sure how to replicate what Glimmer had done. "Uh hey guys, not gonna lie, I've never done the whole fishing thing. How do I, uh, throw it?" Adora asked.

"Oh here let me show you!" Bow said cheerily, getting up and sitting next to her. "Alright so you're gonna wanna hold it back behind you ready to cast." He modeled what to do with his own pole.

Adora copied what he was doing, feeling awkward as she clumsily held the pole back behind her.

"And then you're gonna wanna hold down that button there while throwing it forward and then let go of the button when the little bobber lands." Bow slowly went through the steps himself and shot the bobber out far, landing with a small plop into the water. He smiled satisfactorily and turned to Adora."Does that make sense?"

Adora nodded and gripped the pole. "Yeah I think I got it," she said and repeated the steps Bow had shown her.

Her cast didn't look as clean as his, but it landed a good distance away and Adora smiled.

"Look at that. A natural," Bow said clapping her on the back. "On my first cast I got it stuck in Lance's head!" Bow laughed.

"Who's Lance?" Adora asked.

"Oh yeah that's my dad," Bow explained.

"Oh I gotcha," Adora watched the bobber float on the water. "So is it just you and your dads or do you have siblings?"

Bow groaned. "Yeah I got siblings alright. Twelve."

Adora's eyes widened. "Twelve!? That's a lot!"

"Yeah I know," Bow said with a chuckle. "All older than me too. Maybe you can meet 'em all at Christmas or something."

Adora pictured thirteen different Bows in the same room and became very happy. "That sounds utterly fantastic."

Bow shook his head, smiling, and turned to Glimmer. "What do you think, Glimmer? Christmas party at my place?"

"Uuhhh yeah, sure," Glimmer said distractedly. "I'm in the fish zone."

Adora and Bow looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

"I guess she's in the fish zone," Adora said.

"Yeah I forgot how into this she gets. She really wants to kiss that fish. I'm gonna go get in the fish zone too," he said as he reeled his line back in. "Let me know if you need me. Oh and if something bites you wanna turn that crank and…"

Adora interrupted him. "Bow I think I know how to reel," she smiled at him and he shrugged with a grin before walking over to his spot.

The trio sat and fished for a long time and didn't seem to be getting anything. Bow blamed the lack of activity on a million different things including the fall season, the shade levels, the time of day, and many more. The sun lowered further and further into the horizon as an hour passed without so much as a nibble. Adora was starting to doze off in the warm sun when she felt her pole wiggle and looked out at the lake only to see that the bobber was gone.

Adora gasped and yelled something unintelligible as she started reeling in furiously. Bow and Glimmer jumped up and ran over as she struggled with the line. She felt it pulling against her and tried to yank it towards her while continuing to reel.

"Oh you got it for sure!" Bow yelled on her side.

Glimmer just yelled, "Fish! Fish! Fish!" on her other side.

Adora reeled and reeled and pulled the rod until eventually a flopping fish came springing out of the water and up onto the shore.

Adora stared at the fish with extreme pride and admiration. Bow and Glimmer grabbed her shoulders and shook her vigorously while congratulating her.

"Can I kiss your fish?" Glimmer asked Adora reverently.

"Yes you can kiss my fish," Adora said, grinning.

Glimmer ran up and unhooked the fish. Adora wasn't sure what kind of fish it was, but it was medium-sized and a dark green color.

"Hello little fish," Glimmer said as she held it up and looked into its glassy eyes. "Adora just beat you right up, but we'll send you back on your way here soon. Oh also I love you."

And with that Glimmer placed a small kiss on its forehead and it wiggled in her grasp. She giggled cheerily at its reaction. "Anyone else want to say hi to fish?"

Adora and Bow walked up and pet its head for a bit and then Bow took a picture of them with their catch. Finally, they said goodbye to the fish and placed it back in the lake, watching it swim away quickly.

"They grow up so fast," Adora said as it vanished beneath the water.

The three wrapped their arms around each other's shoulders and watched the light of the sunset reflect over the water.

* * *

"Here, pass the green," Adora said.

Glimmer looked through the piles of colored pencils around her. "You want forest green, grass green, lime green…"

"You know, any green is fine," Adora said quickly and Glimmer handed her a dark green pencil.

"That's the color for sure," Glimmer said approvingly, looking over at what Adora was working on.

The pair continued to color on their big sheet of paper that was spread out on the kitchen table. It was later in the day now and the pair had finished all of their school work already.

They had all been pretty tired after catching the fish, so they had called it a day and left. They all had a lot of fun and promised each other they'd go out there again sometime. Bow swore that on a good day you could catch a billion fish in that spot and vowed that they'd come back and catch every fish in the lake.

After that, they had gone and gotten some fast food and dropped Bow off after they ate together. All in all it was a very good day and Adora was able to let loose and forget about all of the drama from school.

Now her and Glimmer sat in the kitchen, coloring. Angella came in occasionally and observed their progress, complimenting their creativity. They soon finished up the final details and ran upstairs to hang it up in Adora's room.

They decided to hang it up on the wall next to Shakira. Glimmer placed a kiss on Shakira's forehead as she got up on the bed and the two secured the drawing on the wall.

They hopped off the bed and took a few steps back, admiring their work.

"Wow," Adora said, taking it in.

"Wow indeed," Glimmer responded.

Up on the wall was a huge drawing of the lake. There was a big sunset on the horizon. There was a little Bow on the shore, and they had drawn each other there next to him. In the middle of the lake there was a giant fish. It was the fish they had caught and it had a kiss mark on its forehead and a glowing halo floating above its head that Glimmer had insisted on adding.

"We should be artists," Glimmer said thoughtfully.

"Yeah then we can draw giant fish together every day for a living," Adora joked.

"Sounds good to me," Glimmer said and the two sat down on Adora's bed. Adora slouched back against her pillows and Glimmer scooted over and laid up next to her. They sat like that for a while, looking up and observing their art.

Glimmer eventually broke the peaceful silence. "Did you know my dad was an artist?" she asked.

Adora raised her eyebrows in surprise. Glimmer had never talked about her dad before. In fact, now that Adora thought about it, she didn't know the first thing about him. She had seen pictures of him in the halls, but that was about it. She had been curious as to who he was and what had happened, but she had been too afraid to ask. She just figured she'd find out when it was time and it seemed like now was that time.

"I didn't know that," Adora responded lightly. "What kind of art did he do?"

Glimmer sighed. "A lot. He painted mostly. You've probably seen some of his stuff around the house."

Adora thought about it and nodded. She had actually noticed some pretty oil paintings around the house, but had never paid them much mind.

Glimmer continued. "Yeah he didn't really sell his stuff, just made it. He really loved the expression or whatever." She smiled.

Adora looked at her friend. "That's a good reason to paint," Adora approved as she looked over at her friend. "If you don't mind me asking...what happened?"

"Coronary heart disease," Glimmer said with a frown. "It's crazy how something like that can just come out of nowhere. He never did anything to make it worse. He was a healthy weight. Didn't smoke. But it just happens sometimes."

Adora put an arm around her friend. "Oh Glimmer, I'm so sorry," Adora said compassionately.

"It's fine," Glimmer said slowly. "I was really young, so I don't really remember anything. It's crazy though to grow up and not know your own dad."

Adora nodded solemnly and some tears welled up in her eyes. "Yeah I know what you mean."

Glimmer looked over to her friend, alarmed. "Oh shoot sorry, Adora! Here I am going on about my dad when you never got to know either of your parents," Glimmer said sadly, her eyes filling with tears as well.

"It's okay," Adora said and pulled Glimmer into a tender hug. "It hurts sometimes but it's almost easier that I never knew them. That way I don't have to miss who they were. Just wonder about who they could've been."

Glimmer nodded into Adora's shoulder and Adora could tell that her words had resonated with her.

Glimmer and Adora held each other like that for a long time, comforting one another while bathed in the soft, red glow of Adora's mushroom lamp, both very happy that they had each other.

_**That end made me tear up a bit just writing it. But also my tear ducts are very weak so it's not a surprise! Anyway, this chapter was fun and I like doing different settings. It was a little short but the next chapter is gonna be real long and it's the detention which is super fun. I've already started writing it and I'm very eager to get it out! Super fun stuff. But thanks for reading! Feel free to review and I'll keep trying to post regularly. Thank you and have a nice day! **_


	8. Chapter 8

**Friday**

The last bell on Friday afternoon rang out at 3:05 and dismissed the students of Etheria High, or at least it dismissed most of them.

Catra and Adora had a detention. And neither of them were looking forward to serving it.

They had managed to avoid each other as much as possible throughout the day. Even when they had a class together. But now the day was over and there was nothing they could do to avoid each other any longer.

Catra was at her locker, talking to Scorpia, as she usually did at the end of the day. Scorpia could tell that her friend was not looking forward to the detention, even though she had been in detention plenty of times before. She had also noticed that Catra had been all around more quiet and reserved for the last couple of days.

Catra didn't talk to her much about these things, despite Scorpia constantly trying to get her to. Catra just didn't really like talking about her feelings. But Scorpia had known her long enough to be able to tell when something was getting to her.

Scorpia just had to hope that whatever it was would pass or that Catra could take care of it.

Right now she was just trying to cheer the girl up. "See you'll be all sad from detention and you'll get out and I'll be there to sweep you off your feet! And we'll have popcorn!" Scorpia looked at Catra hopefully.

Catra grinned a little. "You're way too excited for this. And I won't be sad. I'm used to detentions! This'll be a piece of cake," Catra said, crossing her arms and leaning against her locker.

"If you say so," Scorpia shrugged. "You want me to walk you down there?"

Catra shook her head and checked the time on her phone. "Nah I'll head down on my own in a bit."

"Okay cool," Scorpia said and hoisted her backpack up onto her stocky shoulders. "I gotta go clean my room before you see it! Good luck in there, Cat." She patted her friend on the back.

Catra nodded. "Thanks. Now you go clean your room and pop kernels or whatever. I got this."

Scorpia smiled and walked away as Catra got her things and slowly meandered towards the detention room. It was right by the main office and they had left the light on just for her. She walked into the room to find it empty, except for a tall man with slicked back, blue hair sitting behind a big desk at the front of the room.

"Uuugggghhh," she groaned loudly at the sight of their Vice Principal, Mr. Hordak, as she walked over to her usual seat on the far side of the room by the window.

The angry looking man looked up from a book he was reading and frowned back at Catra. "I'm not exactly enthused to see you either, Catra," he said in a poor attempt to hide his disdain. "What did you do this time?"

Catra sighed. "Literally nothing. I was just talking." She answered as she plopped down into her seat.

Mr. Hordak laughed coldly. "Talking in the middle of class. That's an important detail. And it looks like this time you managed to drag a new student here with you."

Catra shrugged. "Well at least I have the pleasure of getting to stay here with you, Mr. Hordak," she said dryly and he scowled. "Oh I'm sorry did you have Friday plans?" She continued and feigned a look of pity. "Looks like you'll have to put those off, man. Sorry about that."

Mr. Hordak got up from the desk and pointed a finger at her, his voice now raised. "Now listen here!" He shouted across the near empty room. "You will sit here for the rest of your time and you will stop acting like a child!"

Catra smirked, proud of the reaction she was getting, and put her feet up on her desk. "I'm not the one yelling, Mr. Hordak."

At this, Mr. Hordak started to walk around the desk, clearly furious. He stopped immediately upon seeing the door open.

In walked Adora, her eyes darting around the room, obviously frightened having heard the yelling from the hallway.

Catra and Mr. Hordak turned to look at her and she immediately flushed and sat down in the nearest seat. The interruption seemed to remind Mr. Hordak of his composure and he shook his head and went back behind his desk.

"Alright," he said gruffly, "I have a paper here that you two are to fill out."

Catra was used to this. She could breeze through the behavioral adjustment sheet quicker than anyone. She just had to pretend to be very sorry for everything she had done. Easy.

What Catra was not ready for was Mr. Hordak pulling out a single sheet and walking over to put it on a desk in the middle of the room, between where Adora and Catra were sitting. "You will have to fill this out _together,_" he stated flatly. "When it is done and an hour has passed, you are both free to leave."

Catra's eyes narrowed in surprise, her mouth opened to say something, but she didn't know what to say. She did _not _want to work with Adora, and from the look of Adora's face from across the room, Adora wasn't excited about it either.

"Now if you'll excuse me," Mr. Hordak said slowly, smiling at the distressed looks on their faces, "I have actual work to do in my office. It's right next door. Glass walls. Don't try sneaking out again." He shot a look at Catra. "Come and get me when you're done," he said as he walked out the door of the room and Catra and Adora sat there in silence.

The two tried to avoid looking at each other and sat there in complete silence just listening to the clock tick. Outside it was cloudy and cold and the rumble of thunder could be heard faintly through the walls of the classroom.

After a long period of silence that felt like it lasted forever, Adora cleared her throat. "Hey you wanna sign this sheet or whatever and get it over with?"

Her quiet, firm voice carried across the room and Catra frowned as she heard it.

_"I swear to God. Why is it so hard to ignore this girl." _She thought to herself and cursed under her breath before replying.

"It's not just a sheet you sign," she said, looking at the paper on the desk. "It's some behavioral junk they make you do to like 'show improvement' or whatever."

Adora sighed. She had thought that they would just be sitting in a quiet room for an hour. She had even brought a book to read. But now it looked like she'd have to interact with Catra, the one who got her into all this mess in the first place.

Adora watched Catra for a bit and after soon realizing she had no plans to move, Adora slowly got up and walked over to the paper. She could feel Catra's eyes on her as she walked and hoped desperately that this hour would go fast.

Adora grabbed the paper and began to read the information at the top. "This behavioral adjustment sheet is to be filled out by two individuals who need assistance getting along and behaving in a classroom setting."

Catra scoffed. "Yeah sounds like the same old stuff. They just want you to say you're terribly sorry and that you'll never do it again. We don't even have to do it together. You just write your bits and I'll write mine." Catra looked out the window and watched as rain started to fall and drip down the glass.

"Sounds good to me," Adora said defensively. She was used to Catra going out of her way to get her attention or annoy her, but this seemed like a new approach. She almost seemed disinterested in her altogether. Which was what Adora wanted. But for some reason it made her feel a little rejected.

Adora shrugged the strange feeling off and continued to read the sheet silently. Catra sat and tapped her fingers on the desk rhythmically. The room was quiet except for the faint patter of rain and Catra's fingers drumming away on the desk.

It has only been about half a minute when Adora cleared her throat once again to ask Catra a question.

"Uh...soo…" Adora let her words hang in the empty air for a moment, "...do you have any allergies?"

This caught Catra off guard and she turned to look at the girl, utterly confused. "Do I have...what?"

Adora looked uncomfortably down at the paper and brushed her hair behind her ear. "Well...the first question," she said quickly and held the paper up.

"The first question is about my allergies?" Catra got up from her desk and slid over the desks between them to snatch up the paper. "Lemme see that," she said.

This was a very different form than Catra had ever filled out and really was designed for two people. The first prompt told them to figure out more about one another and to write down three things each that they learned about the other person.

Catra's face twisted in annoyance and Adora shrugged. "See?" She asked. "I was just trying to learn something about you."

Catra looked up at the girl and couldn't help but grin a little. "And your leading question was 'do you have any allergies?'"

Adora smiled a bit too and looked down, embarrassed. Catra sighed as she realized it was too late for her and plopped down in the desk next to Adora.

"Alright let's get this over with," Catra said and Adora nodded and sat in the desk beside her. "Bees," Catra said nonchalantly.

"Excuse me?" Adora questioned.

Catra chuckled gruffly. "I'm allergic to bees. The little jerks. Got stung once when I was little and swelled up like a balloon."

Adora smiled a little at the thought and wrote down the newfound piece of information. "Alright," she said to Catra, "anything else you wanna tell me?"

"Hmmm," Catra thought about it for a bit, "uh…I don't know. I'm an open book."

Adora frowned. "How about I just ask the questions?"

"Yeah sure," Catra said with a smirk. "I mean your first one was so insightful."

"Well how about the basics?" Adora asked. "What's your favorite food?"

Catra exhaled loudly as she thought about the question. "I don't know. Cake? All of it? Next question."

"Uh, I'm just gonna put cake then," Adora said. "What flavor?"

"Is that another question?" Catra asked.

"No, just curious," Adora said offhandedly as she started to write the answer.

"Lemon," Catra said after some hesitation.

Adora winced a little without meaning to.

"Hey what was that?" Catra said, sitting up in her seat. "Are you judging my answer?"

Adora shook her head. "No not judging! It's just weird is all. I mean, chocolate is the obvious choice."

Catra scoffed. "Yeah you would like chocolate. You need a refined taste to enjoy lemon cake."

Adora smiled and finished writing the second thing she had learned about Catra. She looked up from writing to see Catra staring at her. Catra quickly looked away as their eyes met and she started to bite her nails as she stared out the window at the rain.

Adora studied the girl. She was wearing a black denim jacket with a bunch of patches on it and ripped black skinny jeans. It seemed that her hair was always wildly sprouting out around her head and Adora wondered how she could handle all of it. Adora spotted two little black studs in her ears.

As she was looking her over, Catra turned back to her. "I wanna ask you a question now."

"Uh...alright. I still gotta ask you one but go ahead." Adora shifted her desk over so that they were facing each other better.

"You're new here. How did you get to be friends with Bow and Glimmer so soon?" Catra asked quickly.

"Woah," Adora said, surprised. "That's a lot more personal than my questions."

"Shoulda asked better questions," Catra said with a shrug.

Adora shot a look at Catra before deciding it couldn't hurt to tell her. What would it matter if she knew anyway? After today they probably wouldn't talk much more.

"Glimmer's mom, Angella, took me in as a foster child. I live there with Glimmer now and we became close real quick. And Bow is just hard not to like."

Catra eyed her curiously for a brief moment. She had seemed surprised at the answer, but didn't say anything else. She just grabbed the paper and wrote down Adora's response.

"Hey while we're on the topic of Glimmer," Adora said as she wrote, "what is your deal with her? Why do you bully her around?"

Catra looked up from the paper to see Adora staring at her intensely. The room got tense again and Catra cocked her head slightly to the side as she thought about the question.

"Well for one I don't _bully _Glimmer," Catra said mockingly.

"Yeah sure," Adora responded with a scowl.

"I don't!" Catra said defensively, gripping the sides of the desk. "Tease, maybe. But I wouldn't, like, hurt her. I don't just go around beating people up. But I'm sure she's told you otherwise," Catra grunted.

"I literally saw you trip a kid in the hall today!" Adora retorted.

"What!?" Catra exclaimed, offended. "I didn't…oh wait…," she thought about it momentarily. "Okay yes I did trip a guy but he deserved it for real. Big jerk."

Adora scoffed at her rebuttal. Catra could see the judgement in the girl's eyes and needed it to stop.

"Look," Catra said, taking a deep breath. "I haven't messed with Glimmer in a long time. We've...cooled down. There was a little...disagreement way back when, but you can ask her about that." Catra said Glimmer's name disdainfully, in the same way that Glimmer often said Catra's name.

Adora stared at the girl, not sure what to think. But she soon remembered another thing that fueled her anger. "Well what about your little group then? Are they not bullies either? Your friend Lonnie has been messing with me all week, but I'm sure you know that."

Catra groaned and slapped her hand down onto the desk causing Adora to jump a little in her seat. "For one, Lonnie is _not _my friend," Catra said firmly. "She is a jerk and a _real _bully who happens to hang around with people I know. She used to be alright, but that's long gone."

Catra stared Adora in the eyes and Adora could see anger in her strangely-hued amber irises. "And for two, who do you think sent Scorpia over there the other day to keep Lonnie from taking you and Mermista on right there?"

Adora stared at Catra shocked as she slowly realized the implication of the question.

"Yeah," Catra said curtly. "Me. I know her. She woulda fought you in a heartbeat. I wasn't about to just let that happen." Catra's eyes shifted to the floor and the anger flooded out of her. "But no I'm Catra the big bad bully so of course me and Lonnie were in on it together," she said sarcastically. Catra shook her head slowly and looked down at her desk. "You shouldn't just take everything Glimmer says as gospel."

Adora sat with her mouth open slightly, trying to piece all of this together. So Catra had told Scorpia to interfere the other day? That actually explained...a lot.

And if that was true that meant that maybe she wasn't as bad as Glimmer made her out to be. Maybe they just had a personal feud that had gone too far.

Adora had so many questions. For Catra and especially for Glimmer. She rubbed her temple and eyed Catra, who was watching the rain outside again and sitting still.

_"Maybe I made a mistake," _Adora thought to herself.

"Hey, Catra," Adora said to the girl softly, and she turned her head slightly, acknowledging her. "Thanks for the thing with Lonnie. I...didn't know about you two."

Catra pursed her lips and then swiveled around slowly to face Adora again. "Yeah it wasn't a big deal," she said and eyeballed the sheet they had stopped working on. "Alright let's get this over with."

Adora agreed. "Alright. Normal questions. What is your favorite color?"

"Red," Catra responded and Adora began to write it. "But not like a lame bright red! Like a dark crimson."

Adora made sure to include the clarification. "Alright I got your three! You need two more about me still." She handed the paper over.

Catra scratched her chin thoughtfully, trying to think of a good question. "Who was your first kiss?"

Adora blushed instantly and Catra laughed loudly. "I'm just messing with you!" Catra exclaimed with a devilish grin. "But hey I almost made your cheeks turn my favorite color! Nice touch."

This made Adora even more embarrassed, but she smiled despite herself.

"Real question though," Catra said seriously, "what's your weapon of choice in the zombie apocalypse?"

"Oh wow. I don't think about it much. Probably like...a machine gun?"

At this, Catra shook her head and waved a scolding finger at Adora. "Wrong answer! The gun noise would just draw more zombies to you."

"Well wouldn't their ears not work anymore sense they're literally decomposing?" Adora questioned.

Catra took a moment to process this. "Well…..shoot I mean maybe. Man, why you gotta science the fun outta zombies?"

Adora shrugged. "It's just what would happen. And after a while they'd just fall apart."

Catra waved a hand at her dismissively. "Well whatever. I'm still picking a big lumberjack axe." She made a chopping motion with her arms.

"Well fine but don't come crying to me when I'm doing well off with my machine gun and you're stuck with an axe," Adora said smugly.

Catra started to argue but then gave up and just smiled at Adora. Adora returned the smile and Catra felt her stomach twist up into knots.

Catra's whole 'ignore Adora' plan was out of the window and she realized how relieved she felt. It felt good talking to her.

Catra suddenly had an idea for a last question that was a bit of a gamble. Normally, Catra would never be brave enough to ask it, but she was riding a high right now and went for it before she could talk herself out of it.

"Last question real quick," Catra said offhandedly. "How about…something simple. Like what's your...I dunno...phone number?" Catra tried to say it as casually as she could.

Adora was surprised and then her face scrunched up worriedly. In other words, it was not the reaction that Catra had hoped for.

"Well that was just a random question," Catra blurted out quickly, covering her tracks. "Let me just think of another."

"Well it's not that. It's just that I don't have a phone," Adora explained.

"Ooohhh," Catra said, relieved at the unexpected answer. "Well then that's something I learned about you right there."

She wrote down the last thing and handed the paper back to Adora. "Look at that! Only took us like half an hour to learn three whole things about each other!"

Adora smiled. _"I think I learned a lot more than three things," _she thought to herself, starting to realize that Catra was not anything like how Glimmer had described her.

The pair moved on to the next few questions which were the basic questions Catra was used to where it asked them why they misbehaved and why they wouldn't do it again.

Catra was well versed in this and began to guide Adora through how to sound truly sorry.

"But…I am truly sorry," Adora said honestly, thinking back to how disappointed Mrs. Weaver had been.

Catra rolled her eyes. "Oh boy. You shouldn't be. Mrs. Weaver's the worst. She takes any chance she can to send me here."

Adora thought back to how much they seemed to hate one another. "Well I'm just gonna write my apology from the heart and you write your lies and we'll see which one is better."

"Oh you're on," Catra said accepting the challenge with vigor.

They ended up coming to the unanimous decision that Catra's was better.

"How do you do it?" Adora asked in awe as she read Catra's apology that sounded like an advanced Hallmark card.

Catra smirked and did a small bow from her seat. "Years and years of practice."

The two continued to go through the work, moving much quicker now that they had found a way to get along.

The whole situation was still very confusing to both of them, but they were both enjoying themselves despite the conditions. They worked and chatted idly as the rain began to come down in sheets outside.

Finally, the girls got to the very last question. It simply asked them to write 3 nice things about the other person.

Catra laughed at this. "Wow this thing is really overkill," she said with a small yawn.

"Yeah you can say that again," Adora said, getting up and stretching her back before sitting back down.

The two stared at the page for a few seconds until Adora awkwardly intervened. "Sooooo," she said slowly. "You...uh...you wanna go first?"

Catra eyed the piece of paper. "Uhm...maybe we could like write them secretly? And not look at them so we don't have to, like, see it."

Adora quickly nodded her consent. "Yeah I like that idea."

The two put the paper in between them and used their hands to hide their writing from the other. They quickly scrawled out three things each and then flipped the paper over so that their answers couldn't be seen.

"Alright," Adora said, "we did it! And the hour is almost up too!"

Catra looked at the clock and realized she was right. It was just 6 minutes until they could leave. The time had gone so fast.

Catra had a gut instinct to somehow force Adora to spend more time with her. _"Maybe if I just get her in detention every week?" _She mused.

Catra sighed and looked over to see Adora grabbing her backpack and zipping her hoodie up again, eyeing the now steady rainfall outside.

Catra retrieved her own backpack and then her attention slowly drifted to the paper on the table. She was insanely curious what Adora had written. She wanted some way to read Adora's without Adora reading her's.

Adora spotted her side-eyeing the paper and pointed a finger at her. "Hey no peeking! We had a deal."

"What? No I was just making sure my name was on it," Catra replied semi-convincingly.

Adora doubted the girl, but didn't confront her about it. She did, however, keep an eye on her. If she wasn't going to be able to see what Catra had written about her, there was no way Catra should get to.

This afternoon had been extremely strange for Adora. Catra had gone from a malicious antagonist to a curious...acquaintance in just one hour. She had no idea if Glimmer was telling the truth or if Catra was telling the truth, but she was sure that they were both skewed in some way. She had no idea why Catra had stopped Lonnie from messing with her when she could have easily done nothing. And on top of all of that, Adora had actually enjoyed her detention, despite dreading it all week.

It was a lot to process and Adora decided it could wait until later. She sat down next to Catra again for the last few minutes of detention.

"Hey that wasn't too bad was it?" Adora said, shooting a glance at Catra.

Catra shook her head. "Definitely not bad. Best detention I've ever had probably. Top 10 at least!"

Adora chuckled at this. "And hey, now I know who to go to if the zombie apocalypse happens."

"Okay well first off," Catra said raising a finger, "it's not an if, it's a when." Catra couldn't help but smile a little bit at her own statement. "And second, we can stick together, but if that machine gun of yours starts attracting them all I'm booking it."

"Deal," Adora said confidently. "Not that you'd be much help anyway. One bee sting and you'd be done for."

Catra gasped. "You take that back," she said feigning offense. "I can't believe I told you that."

Adora shrugged with a smile. "Guess I just know your weakness now."

"Well you're probably the only…"

Catra was cut off by the door opening as Mr. Hordak walked in and stood at the front of the room, arms crossed. "Did you two finish the assignment?"

"Yeah we finished it. You can go home now," Catra said bluntly and Adora winced.

Mr. Hordak walked over quickly and snatched up the paper, looking it over. "Looks alright," he said. "You two are free to go."

The girls got up and headed out of the room.

"And I'm sure I'll see you next week, Ms. Catra," Mr. Hordak said as she walked out.

"Aww I'll miss you too, Mr. Hordak!" Catra yelled back at him through cupped hands and her voice bounced around the now empty walls of the school.

Adora gawked at the tenacity of the girl and Catra saw her reaction and laughed pridefully. The students got to the glass doors at the front of the school and looked out to see a car sitting in the rain right outside the entrance.

"Welp, that's my ride," Catra said as she awkwardly shuffled towards the door. "Do you uh...do you need a ride home?"

"No that's fine. Glimmer is gonna pick me up here in a bit," Adora replied. "Thanks though."

"Yeah no problem," Catra said smoothly. "I guess I'll uh…I'll see you around then?"

Adora looked at the girl trying to mask how hopeful she was, and smiled warmly. "Yeah, I'll see you next week," she said and Catra shot that toothy grin back and started to leave. "But not in detention next time, please!" Adora yelled after her.

"No promises," Catra said slyly before sprinting out into the rain towards the shelter of Scorpia's car.

Adora shook her head slowly. What a strange girl. She watched Catra hop into the car and drive away.

Adora knew Glimmer would be here soon. She waited in the doorway for a while, but something was still gnawing at her.

She quickly checked outside to make sure Glimmer wasn't driving up yet, and then hurried back towards Mr. Hordak's office.

He was still there, packing up his things to leave when Adora knocked on the door and he ushered her in, annoyed at the intrusion.

"Sorry to interrupt," Adora said quietly, "but can I see that paper again? I think I forgot to put down one of the answers." Adora could hear her heart beat in her ears as she lied to the vice principal.

He sighed. "Go ahead," he pointed at the sheet on his desk. "It's not like these will be graded or anything."

Adora quickly picked up the paper and turned it around to the back, her eyes flitting nervously to that forbidden bottom section. There she saw scribbled in unfamiliar, messy handwriting next to hers, three words:

Strong

Brave

Beautiful


	9. Chapter 9

"It looks like an alien colony. Or like...maybe worms? Crazy worms," Glimmer said as she peered into a microscope, her bright pink hair smashing into the apparatus.

Next to her, Adora was filling out the question packet for their chemistry lab. She looked up from her writing and noticed Glimmer stuffing her face into the microscope. "Save some crazy worms for me," she said as she moved to look into the microscope.

Glimmer begrudgingly gave up the eyepiece and Adora looked into the scope. "Yeah I can definitely see where you're coming from," Adora said before looking away and continuing their lab report.

Glimmer immediately went back to observing the chemical reactions they had made, continuously twisting the knobs on the side to give her a clearer view.

Adora shook her head with an amused smile. It seemed she would be stuck doing the majority of the lab work. Which wasn't a problem necessarily, as she liked working alone much better than working with a partner, even when it came to her friends.

As she listened to Glimmer enthuse about the different shapes and colors, Adora wondered for about the hundredth time if she should tell her about her detention last Friday. At least about the parts that involved Catra.

Adora had been confused and nervous, but mostly flattered after reading what Catra had written about her. Her heart had started beating quickly and she had been in a strange state of mind for the next few hours.

Even now, she couldn't understand why Catra, a girl that she had only ever rejected based on what Glimmer told her, had said such kind things about her. Especially when they only barely knew one another. Adora had spent a lot of the weekend thinking about the strange girl and how unexpectedly nice their detention had been. There was so much more to Catra than she let on and Adora desperately wanted to figure it all out.

Last Friday night, Glimmer had driven her to a little ice cream shop after picking her up and the pair met Bow there. He had just gotten off of work, which was at the library that his parents owned.

Both of her friends had noticed she was acting a little out of it and had asked why, but Adora had just insisted that she was tired after the long day. When they asked how everything went with Catra, she just lied and said they had ignored each other the whole time.

Glimmer had accepted the answer and was glad to hear that Catra was backing off. Bow had eyed her suspiciously for half a second and then seemed to buy it.

Adora chewed on her pencil nervously as Glimmer prepared the next slide to observe. She hated not being truthful with her friends. It felt like a betrayal.

But on the other hand she wasn't quite sure what was even happening with Catra. It's not like they were...friends or anything. And if Glimmer knew she would feel stabbed in the back. With all these thoughts in mind, Adora decided it was best just to leave it be.

_"And besides," _Adora reasoned to herself, _"it's not really lying. I'm just...leaving out certain details."_

Adora forced herself to keep working on the lab even though her mind continued to wander.

* * *

"Oh my god, is it even worth it?" Catra whined as she peeled yet another potato.

"I'll peel your potatoes if you want, Cat," Scorpia said energetically. Catra instantly passed off her potato and watched Scorpia hack away at the thing quickly.

"Yeah you're a lot better at this," Catra observed. "Even though you cut off like half of the potato along with the skin."

"These are power hands, not finesse hands!" Scorpia said distractedly as she carved away.

Catra started prepping the other ingredients for the mashed potatoes they were making in class when her mind wandered to Adora, as it did way too often nowadays.

In her English class earlier that day, Catra and Adora hadn't been able to sit next to each other even if they had wanted to. Catra had gotten to class late and by the time she walked in, all of the seats around Adora were already taken. They had made eye contact briefly when she walked in, and Adora had smiled and then quickly looked away. After class, Catra had planned on talking with the girl, but she had a question for the teacher. Catra waited for her for a bit, but soon realized it would take a while and left the room disappointedly.

And now Catra was very excited for weights class, where she would have a whole stretch of time with Adora. She thought about it in anticipation and bounced her leg excitedly on the stool she sat on.

Scorpia noticed her friend's excitement and smiled. "You're really pumped to get these potatoes going, huh?"

"Hm? Oh yeah! Potatoes, man. Love em." Catra said. She had told Scorpia that the detention had gone a lot better than planned, but hadn't told her much about Adora. She wasn't trying to keep anything from Scorpia, but Catra just didn't normally share these things with anyone.

And for now they were just feelings. Weird, tingly feelings.

Honestly, Catra knew herself well enough to know what she was feeling. She wasn't stupid and she had felt it before with a few other girls. Not that any of those had gone so well.

The only thing that was holding her back now was Adora. The situation was delicate. She was friends with Glimmer, and that could easily become a big problem. Also they hardly knew each other. On top of that, Catra had no idea if Adora was even into girls. Usually Catra had a pretty good nose for it, but Adora was just generally hard to read.

Scorpia spoke up suddenly and snapped Catra out of her thoughts. "Uh, you know," Scorpia said slowly as Catra turned her attention to the girl, "if you like mashed potatoes, there's this place in town with really good mashed potatoes. And, uh, I dunno…if you wanted sometime, uh, we could like…Ow!"

Scorpia was cut short as she accidentally sliced her finger with the peeling knife and blood started to seep from the wound slowly.

"Oh shoot. I'll get a bandaid," Catra said hastily as she quickly leapt over her stool, dashed to the first aid cabinet, grabbed the box of bandages, and rushed back to Scorpia. She was sucking on her finger and trying to clean the blood off of the knife.

Luckily, the teacher hadn't noticed, so they didn't have to have a big fuss about it.

"Here, I'll put it on for you," Catra said as she unwrapped a bandaid and wrapped it around her friend's finger tenderly. Scorpia smiled at Catra gratefully as she tended to her finger.

_"Boy am I lucky to have her," _Scorpia thought warmly and her stomach filled with a familiar fluttering sensation that Catra often gave her.

Catra finished bandaging the wound and stepped back, looking at the blood covered potato on the floor. "Well if that isn't a metaphor for our performance in this class, I don't know what is."

* * *

"So, like, are you going to the Fall Formal?" Mermista asked Adora as she put up her stuff in her locker and prepared to go to weights.

"Fall Formal? I don't know," Adora responded, this being the first time she had heard of the event. "When is it?"

"Uhhh. Fall? I don't actually know, but it's coming up like this month or next month or something."

"Oh. Is it like a date thing or a buddy thing?" Adora asked curiously.

"Either one I guess. It's kinda just whatever," she replied lazily. "Honestly it's suuuper lame. But there's a chocolate fountain and you should totally go."

"Well maybe I will," Adora said, considering it. "I'm not a big fan of the whole social gathering thing though."

"Well then just bring someone who makes you feel more comfortable," Mermista reasoned. "Maybe even a special someone," Mermista elbowed Adora playfully and she chuckled.

"Yeah I just got here. I don't think I'm ready for the whole dating game just yet. Or ever for that matter." Adora closed her locker and leaned back against it alongside Mermista, who she had taken to chatting with in between classes. She was surprisingly easy to talk to because you got the feeling that she didn't really care about anything.

"Aww lame," Mermista said with a small pout. "What about that one girl, Glimmer? You hang out with her a lot. She's pretty cute and her hair looks like cotton candy."

Adora laughed at the very accurate comparison but quickly shook her head. "No, Glimmer and I are just friends. Plus she's my foster sister so it'd be a strange dynamic."

Mermista gasped. "No way. You two are foster sisters? That's, like, insanely adorable."

Adora smiled and Mermista continued. "Well you got a lot of time till the dance. But you better let me know when you start eyeballing someone. I'm, like, really good with secrets."

"I'll keep that in mind," Adora mused as she started to walk off to class. "See ya, Mermista."

"Later," Mermista said and shot off a slow finger gun.

Adora wondered about the dance as she walked to class. She had been to some dances at her old school, but it had been a while and she hadn't even enjoyed them. She didn't like dancing, or the music the school played, or the school itself, or most of the students so dances had never been too appealing.

However, Adora figured it could be fun to go with Bow and Glimmer. Especially for that chocolate fountain.

Adora walked into the weights room and returned a wave from Ms. Huntara, who was cleaning the machines. She kept walking to the locker rooms and noticed Catra and Scorpia were already sitting in the weight room, waiting for class to begin. Catra goofily saluted Adora as she walked by and Adora waved back with a grin and continued to the locker room.

Adora got changed and came back out to the weights room where Ms. Huntara was speaking to the class. "Alright everyone," she said in her rough voice, "today we're maxing out our bench press. I wanna see some real progress from last time. Everyone grab a partner and lets get going."

Everybody suddenly started pairing up. Adora looked around, nervously, for someone who didn't have a partner yet.

Scorpia instinctively got up and assumed Catra would be her partner, but Catra had other plans.

"Hey Scorpia," she said, "I think I'm gonna partner up with Adora this time."

Scorpia's face scrunched up in confusion. "Adora?" She asked, eyes scanning the room. "Oh the new kid!" She realized as she spotted the girl. "But…" Scorpia trailed off and couldn't keep the disappointed look off of her face.

Catra put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Hey it's just for this one time. Just trying to be a good Samaritan here. I mean look at her flounder over there. It's sad."

Scorpia looked over to where Adora was now trying to play off that she didn't have a partner and was setting up her own bench in the corner. "Alright, Cat, I guess," Scorpia said with a sigh. "But you know I lift better when you spot me!"

Catra smiled. "You'll do great without me! You're a machine!"

Scorpia smiled proudly at the complement and nodded. She went off and joined another small group.

Meanwhile, Catra quickly walked over to Adora, trying to contain her excitement.

Adora was setting up when Catra walked up behind her. "Wow you can smell the lonely desperation even better from over here," Catra joked and Adora turned around with an amused look on her face, recognizing Catra's voice.

"Did you come over here just to taunt me?" Adora asked.

"Among other things, partner," Catra responded, the corner of her mouth curving upwards slightly.

Adora looked curiously at the girl. "What about Scorpia?" She asked and looked over to see Scorpia with a few other students.

"Well we aren't joined at the hip," Catra said dismissively. "She'll be fine. I'm just trying to perform a little good will and provide the new kid with some friendship," Catra said in her all too familiar patronizing tone.

Adora rolled her eyes, but honestly she was glad to have a partner. And she was specifically glad it was Catra. "Well thank you for your contribution to my cause," Adora said sarcastically. "Now help me set this up." She gestured to the bench and Catra groaned.

"I haaate lifting!" She whined.

"Yeah I can tell," Adora said mockingly. "The only thing you ever use in here is the treadmill."

Catra gasped. "Adora, have you been watching me work out?"

"What? No," Adora said quickly. "And you can hardly call it a work out anyway," she said with a grin.

"Don't insult my workout expertise," Catra responded, flexing her arms that had little to no muscle definition. "Besides I only take this class cuz it's an easy 'A' and I can just chill with Scorpia."

"Yeah I figured," Adora said and smiled. "What if we started actually working out together in class? I could start you out slow and maybe you'd end up liking it."

"Yes," Catra agreed a little too eagerly and then internally panicked.

_"You hate physical activity!" _She berated herself for her trigger response. _"But on the other hand...Adora as a personal trainer." _Catra noticed how excited Adora looked that she had actually said yes, and Catra suddenly decided that working out sounded fantastic.

"You actually want to?" Adora said, still excited. "I honestly didn't think you'd want to at all."

"Uh...yeah I mean...weights are cool I guess," Catra said, trying to hide her embarrassment that she had been so easily persuaded by this girl into doing something she loathed with a passion.

Adora nodded and finished setting up her weights, the bar now resting over the bench. "Have you ever benched before?" Adora asked.

"Uh, yeah," Catra said leaning against a weight rack. "I've sat on loads of benches."

Adora shook her head in disbelief. "You wanna see me do it, first?"

"Yes I do want that," Catra said quickly. She had seen Scorpia lift a million times so she was pretty sure she knew how, but watching Adora lift heavy things was not an opportunity she was going to pass up.

Adora sat on the bench and laid back while Catra circled around behind her. Adora braced herself and put both arms on the pole, preparing to push. "This is a bit under what I want to get to, but you gotta work your way up," Adora said. She inhaled slowly before suddenly pushing against the weight, lifting it up and over the rest.

Catra watched as her biceps strained and swelled. Catra absentmindedly squeezed her own arm and felt very small in comparison. She closely observed as Adora brought the weight down to her chest, pushed it back up, and placed it back on the rest with a tired, but satisfied, exhale. She sat up, breathing heavy, and turned to Catra. "You wanna go?"

"Uh…I..." Catra stammered, distracted by Adora's performance. "Yeah, I mean, sure."

Catra sidled around the bench and took Adora's place. Adora guided her through some arm stretches to get her limbered up and removed a lot of the weight from the bar.

"Alright I'll be right back here if you need me," Adora said moving around behind Catra. "But this weight is pretty low so it shouldn't be too bad."

"Yeah we'll see about that," Catra muttered as she laid back and looked up at the imposing bar above her.

_"What am I doing?" _Catra wondered for the hundredth time. _"I'm about to actually lift weights just for a pretty girl. I'm hopeless."_

Adora could see the nervousness in Catra's face and frowned. "Hey if you don't wanna do it, you don't have to," she said, concerned.

Catra shook her head vehemently. "Nah it's fine. I'm not gonna stop till these muscles are as big as yours! Then I'll beat you at your own game!"

Adora laughed lightly and her mind instantly remembered what the girl lying beneath her had written about her the other day: Strong. Adora's heart did a flip and she looked down at Catra who was staring at the bar with determination.

She took a deep breath and pushed on the bar until it lifted up over the rest and was right above her. It wasn't terribly heavy, but her untrained muscles struggled as her arms wiggled and she slowly brought the bar down to her chest. At this point she wasn't sure if she could make the return trip, but her eyes glanced up to Adora who looked at her encouragingly, and she gritted her teeth and went for it.

"Stupid...arms…stupid," Catra grunted as she pushed the bar back up off her and onto the rest again. She let out a sigh and her arms dropped, dangling off the sides of the bench.

"Wow you did great!" Adora congratulated the girl. "Do you wanna try to go higher?"

"Nope," Catra said plainly as she breathed heavily. "But hey that wasn't too bad! I felt pretty awesome there at the end!"

Adora smiled at the girl's enthusiasm. "Yeah I like the feeling too. It feels good to be in control." Adora sat down on the ground cross legged next to Catra as she laid back on the bench.

Catra nodded and yawned. "I think I'm done for the day," she said lazily. "Or the week."

Adora chuckled. "Well just wait till next class! We'll get in your first full body workout. You'll be so sore you won't be able to move!"

Catra groaned loudly and wondered what she had gotten herself into.

From across the room, Scorpia watched the pair anxiously. She couldn't believe that the new girl had gotten Catra to bench. Scorpia had tried that a million times.

What could Adora have said to get her to do it instantly? Also, they seemed to be getting along pretty well.

_"When did that happen?" _Scorpia wondered, thinking back to the hostility between the two just last week. _"Maybe in detention they worked things out."_

Scorpia watched as the two talked and set up more weights, Catra struggling to get the heavy plates up onto the bar. She wished she was with Catra. Scorpia would never get in the way of Catra making new friends, but she still couldn't help feeling replaced.

She sighed and then quickly remembered she should be watching her partner lift. She tried not to think about Catra, but that was a lot of what she thought about nowadays. She continued to sneak glances of the pair for the remainder of class.

* * *

In the locker room after weights, Catra couldn't keep her mind off of Adora. She could barely keep her eyes off her either, but she made sure not to get caught staring. And she definitely didn't look when Adora was changing. Not that she didn't want to. But she didn't want to be creepy and she respected Adora too much to do that.

Instead she sat there at her locker thinking of what her next steps should be. She needed to know more about Adora. What kind of person is she? What does she like? And most importantly, does she think girls are hot?

Catra needed info, but she couldn't just get it straight from the source. She didn't wanna come on too strong and she definitely didn't wanna rush anything.

Catra sat, brainstorming what to do, when suddenly an idea formed in her head and she smiled crookedly to herself.

* * *

"Bye guys! I love you!" Bow yelled to Glimmer and Adora as they drove away. He made a heart shape with his hands and held it up, hoping they would see it as they pulled out of the school parking lot and headed home.

Bow sighed contentedly and checked his phone. Another day down. He had to get to the library for work before too long. He headed back to his car, humming a show tune he had stuck in his head and kicking pebbles around the parking lot.

He had stayed and talked with Glimmer and Adora for a while after class got out so most of the students had cleared out by now. Bow easily noticed his car in the lot. Granted, the pink punch buggy was hard to miss, and he walked towards it.

As he approached, he noticed someone leaning against the hood of his car. He figured it was just someone waiting to get picked up or something and he walked up with a wave.

"Hey, how're you do…" Bow stopped abruptly as the person turned around to face him and he recognized Catra immediately.

"Woah! Catra?" Bow asked confused. "Is this a jump? Are you like gang jumping me right now?" Bow raised his hands into a clumsy karate stance he had learned in a class when he was twelve and looked around the lot nervously.

Catra just stared at him in utter disbelief, and then burst into laughter. She laughed for a long time, her voice carrying across the empty lot. Bow put his hands down slowly at the laughter and then awkwardly began to laugh along.

"Oh. My. God," Catra said slowly, wiping a tear from her eye. "I'm not jumping you, dummy. But if I was, I'm sure that little judo move woulda scared me right away," she said sarcastically.

"Yeah well it's karate actually," Bow added and Catra just stared at him blankly.

"Look, Bow," Catra said slowly. "Can I call you Bow?"

"Uhhh. Yes?" Bow answered, not understanding his current situation.

"Bow I'm not gonna mess with you. You're super sweet, everyone knows that," Catra said matter of factly.

"Aww thanks," Bow said sweetly, in spite of himself.

"Yeah don't get a big head," Catra said dismissively. "Now I know you probably think I'm some big bully who lives to cause pain and steal lunch money or whatever, but I'm actually just a low level jerk who needs a favor right now."

Bow was very confused. "Uhh. I mean…" he stalled, scratching the back of his head and watching Catra warily. "Yeah I guess I could help...maybe. What is it?" Bow asked and then continued before Catra could respond. "Is it illegal? Is it like drugs? Or do you want me to join a cult or something? Or maybe…"

"Oh wow stop," Catra said quickly, interrupting the rambling boy. "Literally nothing like any of that."

Bow looked relieved and sighed. "Well what then?" He asked curiously.

Catra leaned against his car and looked around the lot quickly to make sure nobody was around before turning back to Bow. "All I need is some simple, tiny, inconsequential, little details about a certain person," Catra said plainly. "Oh and I need you to not tell anyone we talked."

Bow stared at the girl, dumbfounded. "Are you a spy?"

Catra facepalmed and stepped closer to Bow. "Bow I'm not a spy. I just need to know some things about…well...about Adora. Nothing personal. Well nothing _too _personal."

Bow became even more confused as this conversation managed to become even weirder. "Wait what? Adora? Why do you wanna know about her?" Bow asked and then his eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You need to leave her alone, Catra. You already got her in detention. And Lonnie keeps messing with her."

Catra scowled suddenly and Bow recoiled. "Lonnie hasn't been my friend for years! Why does everyone think we're so close?" Catra wondered aloud. "And also I'm not doing this to mess with Adora! Geez you guys have the lowest opinion of me." Catra stared down Bow and he shrunk a little under her gaze.

"Well… I just...sorry..." Bow said apologetically and exhaled slowly, at which Catra briefly nodded her forgiveness. "But why else would you wanna know about her?"

Catra sighed and started biting at her fingertips. "Uh...hmmm," she said thoughtfully. "How do I put this?"

Catra thought for a while as Bow waited expectantly. Finally, Catra cleared her throat and spoke.

"Adora is...has come under my…attention...and she is…a nice...person...who is also...uh…attractive…" Catra stammered and froze and didn't dare look Bow in the eyes. She did, however, hear a massive gasp emanate from beside her.

"Oh my god!" Bow yelled loudly. "Wow you like Adora, don't you!? Like, like-like!"

"Shush!" Catra said quickly, feeling her cheeks grow hot, and shooting a nasty look at Bow, who was grinning from ear to ear. Catra looked around quickly making sure nobody had heard his outburst.

"Oh my god of course!" Bow said in a loud whisper, practically dancing with excitement. "Oh wow I should have known! I knew something happened at that detention! Adora was so out of it. But in a good way! Oh man what was it? How'd it go down?" Bow finally stopped babbling and stared at Catra expectantly, leaving her feeling very exposed. She already regretted this idea. She did, however, catch on to something that Bow had said.

"Wait a minute," Catra said, ignoring Bow's questions and causing his smile to drop. "You said she was out of it in a good way?"

Bow nodded quickly. "Oh yeah," he said excitedly. "She was totally in a tizzy. I don't think Glimmer could tell, but I have eyes like an eagle! Oh man I should have known!"

Catra internally celebrated. _"This is a good sign. Assuming that it's actually what happened and Bow isn't just full of it."_

She looked over at Bow and he was frowning, which seemed out of character for the boy, especially since he had just been so overjoyed. "What's wrong with you?" Catra asked bluntly.

Bow shook his head. "I was just realizing how much of a pickle this is. If Adora likes you back, which she totally definitely could not at all and that would be her choice. No offense."

Catra frowned. "Well that's a confidence booster," she said sarcastically.

Bow continued. "If it worked out that way...man I just don't know. I mean with you and Glimmer being how you are it'd be a whole thing."

Catra couldn't help but agree with this. The two did not like each other at all and there was close to no chance that Glimmer would react fine to it. If it did happen in the first place, that is.

"We'll cross that road when we get to it," Catra said firmly.

"It's cross that _bridge_ when we get to it," Bow replied helpfully. When met with Catra's glare he changed topics. "Okay so that's all just assuming this actually happens," Bow sighed. "Sweet star-crossed lovers. One is a shy girl from out of town, the other a gruff rebel. Will they find solace in each other?" Bow exclaimed dramatically.

Catra didn't mind the term 'gruff rebel,' but she decided they were getting off track.

"Well Bow, what I really need is to know more about her. Which is where you come in."

"Why don't you just ask her?" Bow asked curiously.

Catra sighed deeply. "It's not...easy. And here's the deal. If she isn't even interested, I still wanna be friends. But if I come on too strong or she catches on, that whole 'just friends' thing goes out the window."

"I see. I see," Bow said quietly, acknowledging the dilemma. "Okay well I can help a bit I guess. If only for young love," he said wistfully.

"Yeah, sure, young love or whatever," Catra said distractedly. "I just wanna know basics. If she's into me. Or at least _could _be into me."

Bow pondered this question for a little while. "To be honest, I have no idea." Bow said defeatedly and Catra slumped slightly. "She's hard to get a read on that one. And she doesn't share much unless asked."

"Exactly," Catra said confidently, glad that it wasn't just her who couldn't figure Adora out.

"But," Bow said slowly, "I can try to find out using my special Bow powers of getting to know people better!"

Catra nodded, trying to look past the lengths she was going to for this girl. "Perfect. Here just text me when you find out," Catra began to pull out her phone, but Bow stopped her.

"No, no. Phones are too traceable. I'm a real spy now. We should meet here after school. When I've figured something out I'll flash you a symbol sometime during the school day. Then you flash it back. And then we meet here that afternoon."

Catra rubbed her eyes in disbelief, but lacked the energy to fight this. "Okay fine. We'll be weird spies or whatever."

Bow pumped his arm in success. "You know I'm not good at keeping secrets, right?"

"Yeah I figured," Catra said disappointedly. "But you're gonna have to this time. I promise I won't make you do this for long. If the coast looks clear I'll just slide right in and sweep her off her feet!"

Bow tried to keep the heavy doubt from his voice. "Alright I can hold for a while. I mean it's not lying or anything, I'm just supporting a loving endeavor." He reasoned to himself.

"Exactly," Catra confirmed and stuck out her hand. "Deal?"

Bow took a deep breath and then shook the girl's hand. "Deal."

The two stood silently before Bow suddenly lit up.

"Should we have codenames?" He said excitedly.

"Okay I'm done," Catra said and started to walk away.

"Okay no codenames!" Bow yelled after her. "It was nice talking to you!"

Bow tried to process everything as she walked away and he got into his car. This whole thing was crazy. What were the odds of Catra, of all people, falling for Adora? Bow shook his head and mumbled to himself.

"Oh, Love, you strange, confusing thing."

_**Bow and Catra is like one of my favorite interactions to write now. They are just so different and both so precious. I'm excited to see where that dynamic goes. Anyway, thank you for **_**_**all of your continued support! I love writing this story and I love the feedback. Have a nice day!**_**


	10. Chapter 10

It was after school one evening when Bow suggested that Adora, Glimmer, and himself go mini-golfing. It didn't take much convincing before the girls agreed. It had been a long day and all three of them liked the sound of letting off a little steam. Adora was particularly excited to mini-golf, as she had never done it before.

After school, the three carpooled with Bow and before long they were all holding small clubs and standing on the course.

"It's like a little world. But for golf," Adora said in awe as she took it all in. "There's a little waterfall over there."

Glimmer laughed at the remark. "I think my new favorite thing in life is just watching you discover new things."

"My new favorite thing is this little golf world," Adora said as she admired the little river that ran all around the course.

Bow and Glimmer laughed and the friends walked towards the first hole. It was a straight shot with a couple little bumps, but no major obstacles.

"Here, Adora, this first one's super easy. I'm kind of a mini golf expert. No big deal," Glimmer said smugly. Adora raised her eyebrows and looked to Bow for confirmation.

"Yeah she's actually pretty good. Always beats me by like a million," Bow said.

"That's right," Glimmer said proudly. "I'll show you how it's done. Watch and learn."

She placed her ball down and eyed the hole. She breathed in deeply before tapping the ball towards her target. The ball sped down the green before it whiffed past the hole and came to rest at the border behind it. Glimmer's shoulders slumped immediately and she ducked her head in shame.

Bow gasped behind her. "Is the master losing her edge?"

Glimmer waved a hand. "What? No, no. Don't be silly. I'm just getting back in the swing of things." She stretched her arm dramatically. "Just gotta limber up."

She walked over to her ball and aimed once again at the target, this time taking even longer to calculate her shot. After a few moments of extreme concentration, she swung lightly, tapping the ball and sending it right past the hole again. Glimmer frowned at the ball.

She quickly went over to where it had stopped, and after two more swings managed to get it into the hole.

When she finally made it, Adora clapped in support. Glimmer picked up her golf ball in defeat.

"Okay maybe I'm not an expert," she conceded. "But I'm probably, like, top 50%.

Adora nodded encouragingly and stepped up to the green. She placed her ball down and eyed the course.

"Yeah it turns out," Glimmer said to Bow as Adora prepared to swing, "this first hole is harder than you'd think."

As she said this Adora whacked the ball forcefully, causing it to speedily ricochet off the side of the border over to the opposite border.

Glimmer walked up behind Adora as the ball bounced all over the course. "Nice try, Adora. That was just a little too…."

Glimmer stopped instantly as she watched the ball roll slowly into the hole. Adora smiled widely and pumped her fist.

Glimmer's jaw dropped and Bow clapped her on the back. "You know, Glim, I think maybe I just suck at mini golf, and in comparison you've always looked like a pro."

Glimmer groaned lightly. "You know I think you might be right."

* * *

Four holes into the game, Glimmer and Bow became painfully aware that they stood no chance. Adora had hit 3 holes in one and got the other in two. And she was definitely living in the moment.

"Why hello there, Glimmer," Adora said, walking up beside Glimmer and stretching her arms for her next shot.

Glimmer sighed, knowing where this was going. "Hi, Adora."

"Ahem," Adora interceded petulantly. "I would prefer you address me by my proper title."

Bow tried and failed to hold in his laughter as Glimmer rolled her eyes. "Adora, I told you I'm not calling you Golf Queen."

"I am Golf Queen!" Adora exclaimed and whacked at her ball, sending it angling around a hill and under a windmill. It managed to avoid every obstacle, angling off a hill, and rolled directly into the hole.

"Golf Queen strikes again!" Adora yelled, waving her putter and laughing maniacally.

Glimmer couldn't help but smile at how much Adora was getting into this, even if she had become an evil golf addict in the process. "Alright step aside," Glimmer said and got ready to take her shot. "I shall be the Princess of Put!" Glimmer swung a little too hard and the ball bounced off the barricade and right back to her.

"The Princess of Put might need a few more swings," Bow said, chuckling lightly.

Glimmer stuck out her tongue at her friend in defiance and looked out at where her ball had landed.

"What's your golf name, Bow?" Adora asked, leaning on her club.

"I dunno. You two deserve to be golf royalty. I am but a humble court jester who has hit his ball into the water every hole. I don't deserve a name," Bow said dramatically.

"That's so sad," Adora said. "The Golf Queen pities you and promises she will no longer gloat over you poor peasants."

"You know something tells me you'll have a hard time keeping that promise," Bow replied with a grin.

Adora just shrugged and Glimmer turned back to her ball and began making practice swings.

Bow took this opportunity to start a conversation with Adora. He hadn't forgotten his talk with Catra the other day and he had been waiting for an opportunity to try and get some juicy details. "Sooo," he said as casually as he could, "how about this weather, huh?"

Adora smiled strangely at the boy. "Uh. Yeah I mean it's nice weather, I guess. A little chilly."

"Agreed. A little nippy indeed." Bow said, suddenly realizing how bad he was at gathering information. His mind went blank as he tried to think of a way to figure out what Catra had asked him to.

_"Just act natural," _Bow instructed himself calmly.

"So," he said, watching as Glimmer took a shot and scowled as it bounced off a windmill blade. "You've never been mini-golfing?"

Adora shook her head. "Nope. We didn't have one in our old town. They're not super common."

"True fact," Bow said and then tried to segway. "You know...I always wanted to take a date mini-golfing."

"Oh yeah?" Adora asked with a smile. "That would be cute."

"Yeah I get that a lot," Bow bragged. "But uh...what about you? Does this place seem like good first date material?"

"For me?" Adora asked thoughtfully and shook her head. "I don't know. It seems nice, but I've never been on, like, a real date."

"Oh wow," Bow exclaimed, now extremely curious about Adora's past. "Well have you never dated anyone?"

Adora smiled. "You're really feeling gossipy tonight, aren't you?"

"I usually always am," he replied guiltily. "And you don't have to answer if you don't want to. I'm just a curious soul."

"No it's no big deal, I was jus…" Adora's response was cut short as Glimmer ran up to the pair.

"Seven! Seven swings! I am a disgrace. I should be a court jester with Bow," she said, shaking her club.

"Awww don't be that way," Adora said and gave the girl a side hug. "We can all be golf royalty."

"If you say so," Glimmer said, nudging Adora playfully and causing her arm to slip off of the club she was leaning on. Adora tripped a little before catching herself and grinned wryly at Glimmer. "You little…"

Glimmer yelped and took off to the next hole and Adora pursued her, swinging her club wildly.

Bow followed and happily watched the mayhem. He also decided that he needed a different approach when it came to Adora.

* * *

Finally, after much rage and gloating, the three friends made it to the last hole. At this point, they had given up the competition due to Adora's unforeseen skill at mini-golf. She had managed to hold her promise not to brag all the way up until hole 7 where she had landed a hole-in-one and couldn't help herself.

"Last hole!" Bow said as they looked down the hill at the hole that was obstructed by all manner of obstacles.

"Hmmm. Looks like a novice hole to me," Adora said cockily just to annoy her friends, who both groaned.

"Remind us never to take you golfing again," Glimmer joked.

"Yeah is there any other random skill you're secretly a beast at?" Bow asked.

Adora thought about it. "Possibly Mario Kart," she said after much deliberation.

"Oh man don't get me started on the Mario Kart!" Glimmer exclaimed. "Bow, she got 1st place every game. Even on the hardest difficulty. Every time. She's unstoppable."

"Wow. Mini-golf and Mario Kart. Are there even better things to be good at?" Bow wondered aloud.

"Definitely," Adora answered. "Now who wants to go first?"

"I'll get it over with," Bow volunteered and stepped up to the green. He kissed his ball tenderly, placed it on the ground, and whacked it down the hill. It smacked off of a barricade and almost hopped into the water again, but managed to stay on course.

"Hey that was pretty good!" Adora said, congratulating her friend.

"The highlight of my career," Bow said happily, and ran down the hill to finish off his turn.

Adora and Glimmer took a seat on a bench at the top and watched Bow. The sun was going down and it was starting to get chilly. Adora put her hood up and tightened it around her head. She looked over at Glimmer, who was watching a bug crawl around.

"Hey thanks for taking me to do stuff like this," Adora said to her friend.

"Well of course! Maybe you used to just be my foster sister but now you're my friend too," Glimmer said sincerely.

"Thanks," Adora responded. "I'm starting to actually feel like I fit in here because of you."

"At this golf course?" Glimmer asked with a grin.

"No not at the golf course," Adora giggled. "But just with you two. And with your mom at your house, and…"

"_Our_ house," Glimmer interrupted quickly.

Adora just nodded. "Our house," she said thoughtfully.

"Well it's been pretty great having you around," Glimmer said. "And I love taking you places! And Bow loves it!" She gestured at Bow as he walked back up the hill.

"I love it!" He said, not actually hearing the rest of the conversation. "What do I love?"

"You love this best friend squad," Glimmer explained.

"Heck yeah I do," he said and stuck his hand out towards the girls. "Bring it in."

The three friends did their secret handshake as well as they could remember.

* * *

"Fry me," Bow said, gripping the steering wheel.

Adora, in the passenger seat beside him, took a fry out of a carton and put it into his mouth, smiling at the system they had implemented.

"You know we could have just stopped to eat," she reasoned.

"Well it's getting late and it's a school night. And I gotta finish a project before tomorrow."

"Oof," Adora replied before looking back into the backseat to see Glimmer slumped over onto her side, dead asleep. "Wow she was really tired!"

"Must have been all that puttin'," Bow said, but secretly he congratulated himself.

One thing he had learned about Glimmer long ago was that one of her greatest weaknesses was softly played Enya music. He had turned it on casually when they had gotten into the car and in mere minutes she was out cold.

Bow just needed time to do his spy work without Glimmer getting suspicious, so he had done what had to be done. Now, with Glimmer unconscious, he made his move.

"Sooo, you seen those flyers about the Fall Formal?" Bow asked Adora inconspicuously.

Adora nodded. "Yeah. Mermista was telling me about it. I might go if you guys are going."

"Oh!" Bow exclaimed. "That sounds super fun! Would you not wanna go with a date instead of your lame friends?"

Adora snorted. "You sound just like Mermista. What is it with you guys and trying to hook me up with someone right when I get here?"

"We're just romantics, Adora. Hopeless romantics," Bow said dismissively.

"Well you won't be getting a lot out of me," Adora said. "I'm not really the dating type."

"Not the dating type?" Bow said incredulously. "How so?"

Adora shrugged. "I don't know. I don't wear nice clothes or put on makeup or do any of that. Not to mention that the idea of going on a date sounds super stressful."

"Now listen here, Adora. When you've found the right person, none of that matters. They'll love you for who you are. And you'll be excited _and _stressed instead of just plain stressed."

"I guess," Adora said unconvincingly.

"Plus you're gorgeous! You don't need makeup or fancy clothes or any of that," Bow said reassuringly.

Adora smiled. She didn't believe it herself, but it felt good to hear. "Thanks, Bow."

"Well it's just the truth!" Bow said. "Fry me."

Adora put another fry in his mouth as she continued their conversation. "Not to mention I've never really done the whole dating thing. There was some stuff in, like, middle school, but that hardly counts."

"Yeah no middle school gets weird," Bow said with a grim tone. "One time I went on a middle school 'date' after class with this one guy and we ended up just going to a playground and then I got bit by a bug and cried and went home and it was terrible."

Adora laughed at the story. "Well that sounds like quite the experience," Adora said, amused. "What about now? Do you have your sights set on a certain someone?"

Bow sighed. "Nah not really. The problem with high school is that you grow up with everyone in your class and you kinda just get bored of the same people every week. But maybe one day," Bow said dramatically.

"Well let me know when that day is," Adora said. "And try to avoid playgrounds this time. And bugs."

"I will, I will," Bow said with a grin. He stopped at a red light and took the opportunity to stuff a handful of fries into his mouth.

"Oh my god you're gonna choke!" Adora exclaimed.

Bow tried to respond but his mouth was too muffled by fries for Adora to understand what he was saying. Glimmer shifted restlessly in the back seat and Bow turned the Enya up a little bit.

Bow finally managed to choke the fries down and sighed. "So…" he started, "there's not one person you'd wanna take to the dance? Not even one single person?"

Adora scoffed. "Wow you really are a hopeless romantic."

Bow shrugged. "Guilty as charged."

Adora thought about the question seriously.

_"Is there anyone I would wanna go with?" _She wondered. _"I mean I guess there's…"_

Adora couldn't help herself as Catra instantly crossed her mind, but she ignored the thought as best she could. It was ridiculous. Catra was a friend at best. She was just reading too much into what Catra had written about her. Her mind drifted back to those words.

_"Strong. Brave. Beautiful."_

Adora hadn't stopped thinking about the words since she had read them. Did Catra really think that or did she just write down random things? Why beautiful? She had so many questions, but she couldn't exactly confront Catra about it, considering that she wasn't supposed to have seen it.

"Ah see this prolonged silence makes me think there's someone," Bow said with a sly grin, interrupting Adora's thinking.

"What?" Adora said, defensively. "Nope. No. Final answer is no. I do not have anyone."

"Okay sure if you say so," Bow said tauntingly and Adora frowned at him.

The two drove in silence for a bit and Bow was starting to think that maybe he had gone too far with the questions. Maybe he was prying too much. He was about to apologize when Adora spoke up.

"But," she said gently, causing Bow to perk up, "if there was, by chance, someone who maybe possibly could be into _me…_how would I know?"

This conversation was very out of her comfort zone, but she honestly felt like if anyone could help her figure out what Catra thought about her, it'd be Bow.

Bow squealed internally but managed to put on a calm appearance. "Well if there did happen to maybe possibly be someone," Bow repeated with a smirk, "how do they treat you?"

"Uhm…" Adora checked to make sure Glimmer was still asleep and then considered the question. "Strangely? They were very...uh…persistent at first. Almost...annoying? And now they're more laid back, but nicer to me."

Bow took in this information. He realized the person Adora was thinking of could very well be anyone and whether it was Catra or not, he was very excited about it.

"Yep. Okay that's a sign for sure," he said giddily. "What about, like, body language?"

"Uh...body language…" Adora trailed off.

"Like, do they stare at you? But like look away when you make eye contact? Or do they act funny when you get closer to them? Stuff like that," Bow explained.

"Oh wow," Adora's face started to redden a little bit, embarrassed by the conversation. She was glad it was dark and Bow was watching the road. "I actually have no idea," she said aloud as she realized it was true. She hadn't paid much attention to these smaller details.

"Ah see well that's key," Bow said smoothly. "Try and pay attention to what they do. And see if they compliment you or get real awkward around you."

"Well I don't know if that's a good tell," Adora said with a chuckle. "I get awkward around everyone."

"Okay well then maybe not that," Bow said with a smile, "but sometimes that happens with people so just keep an eye out."

Adora nodded. "Alright. Yeah okay. And again...this is just a possibility. I'm not saying I'm interested or anything. Just curious. Possibly."

"Very cryptic. I like it," Bow replied excitedly. "Well I will always be here no matter what to listen to every single detail."

"Oh I know you will," Adora said, happy that she had shared at least a little bit of this with someone else. She was tired of thinking about it and Bow clearly knew a lot more about this stuff than she did.

"Who did you say it was again?" Bow asked quickly.

Adora shook her head with a wry grin. "You aren't getting it out of me that easy."

"Well it was worth a try," Bow said.

"Plus," Adora said carefully, "I don't even think you know who they are."

"Oh?" Bow asked confused, clearly wracking his mind. "I know everybody though. Hmmmm."

Adora congratulated herself as Bow pondered this new factor. _"That should keep him off my tracks for a while," _she thought, smiling a little to herself.

Bow continued to think this over in surprise. If it was someone who she didn't think he knew then it definitely wasn't Catra. Which meant that someone else entirely was possibly into Adora.

Bow frowned. _"Catra is not gonna like this development,_" he worried to himself.

"And you don't like them back?" Bow asked.

"Well…I just don't really know them is all," Adora answered honestly.

"Well say you did get to know them," Bow questioned. "Do you think you'd want to...you know...do the whole relationship thing?"

Adora pursed her lips. "You know I'm not sure. It seems hard. And I already have so much going on."

Bow nodded. She did have a lot of change going on. "Well I may be a sucker for romance, but I wouldn't ever push you to do anything. Can I ask just one more question?"

"Well maybe just one," Adora said, checking once again to ensure Glimmer was still asleep. She was all wrapped up in the seat belt and was in an extremely uncomfortable looking position, but she was still dead asleep.

"Are they cute?" Bow asked with a childish grin.

Adora was not expecting this question and stammered nervously. "Well...I mean…they're...uh…"

Adora struggled to vocalize her thoughts as she started to think about Catra. Her strange eyes that were mainly hazel, but with specks of blue in one and bits of green in the other. The way she slouched when she walked, with her hands in her pockets. Her fitted leather jacket with its rips and tears. Her sporadic hair that seemed to be as wild as the girl herself. The way one side of her mouth curled up when she smiled. Adora surprised herself with how much she had noticed about the girl. She spoke without thinking much about it. "Uh...yeah...she's pretty cute, I guess," Adora muttered quietly, almost seeming ashamed.

Bow bounced in his seat a little bit as the plot thickened. Adora hadn't noticed that she had said 'she' just then, but Bow sure had. Bow didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable, so he didn't mention her slip-up, but he was glad that he knew more about his friend now.

"Oooooh well that makes it even better!" Bow squealed. "I am so excited for you!"

"Well don't be yet you maniac," Adora said with a smile. "We aren't anything yet and I don't even know if they're into me and also I'm not sure I'd wanna do anything in the first place."

Bow nodded. "Alright, alright. I'll try to contain my joy." He was very happy that his friend trusted him enough to tell him about these things. He thought about how thankful he was to have such good friends, and teared up a bit.

"Well if something _does_ change I'll let you know," Adora replied.

"And I live for that moment," he said as he turned into the neighborhood where Adora and Glimmer lived. "We best wake up the beast," he said nodding back to Glimmer.

"Yeah I wonder why she fell asleep so hard," Adora questioned.

"Yeah how strange," Bow said as he innocently turned the Enya music off just as Adora reached back to wake up Glimmer.

Glimmer roused with a start as Adora shook her awake gently and looked around, confused. "Oh," she said as she realized where she was and yawned loudly. "Guys I had this crazy dream about a squid and a law firm and...I think Enya was there," Glimmer said tiredly.

Bow pulled into their driveway and parked. "Well golf was super fun!" Bow exclaimed and Adora agreed.

"Yeah good idea," Adora said, and Glimmer nodded in agreement as she rubbed her eyes. "We'll have to do it again sometime."

"Oh definitely," Bow responded as Adora got out of the car.

"Adora can you carry me?" Glimmer asked weakly, holding out her arms and grabbing for Adora.

Adora rolled her eyes. "Fine, but don't get too used to it."

Adora had Glimmer attach herself onto her like a backpack, the girl still dozing as she rested her head on Adora's shoulder. They went inside, Adora waving goodbye to Bow as they did. Bow waved back and smiled contentedly before heading home, wondering the whole way back who Adora's _other _secret admirer might be and loving that he had gotten caught up in the middle of all of this.

_**Oh boy. The plot thickens. Fun little golf chapter with some deep friend gossip near the end. This is so fun to write. Also season 4 of She-Ra came out the other day and I consumed all of it without any breaks! Really loved it. Great show and clearly I love the characters so much. And rest assured, I already have future plans to add a particularly Troublesome theater kid into the mix at Etheria High ;). Anyway, I have gotten such positive reviews and I'm really glad I can entertain you guys. And your reviews make me feel very happy. So thanks for everything and I'll keep on posting as often as I can. I hope you all have a wonderful day.**_


	11. Chapter 11

Catra was chatting idly with Kyle and Scorpia by her locker when she saw Bow walking down the hall towards her. His eyes darted around quickly until he spotted her. He did a quick side glance to make sure nobody was looking and then put his hands together and made a weird bird shape that he proceeded to wiggle upwards to make it look like the bird was flying.

Catra's eyes widened and she shot daggers at the boy. He seemed to be patiently waiting for a response. Catra groaned softly and did a small bird in response as quickly as she could.

Kyle stopped mid-sentence and looked at Catra quizzically. "What was that thing you just did?"

"Huh? What thing?" Catra asked blatantly.

"The...with your hands...that weird motion thing," Kyle said, confused.

"Oh!" Catra exclaimed in recognition. "For your information, that 'weird motion thing' was sign language, Kyle. Way to be ignorant."

Kyle's face dropped and Scorpia shook her head disapprovingly at the boy. Kyle started to apologize and explain himself, but Catra wasn't listening. Instead she looked back down the hallway to see that Bow was now walking away and she began to fervently anticipate the end of the day.

* * *

Adora got out of her art class in a pretty good mood. They had started their oil paintings today and Adora was really enjoying herself. She was working on a landscape painting of the ocean at night.

Adora had always wanted to see the ocean, but had never lived close enough to get the chance. She had decided it would be nice to have a little painting of the ocean that she could hang up in her room.

Perfuma thought that was adorable and assured her that she'd see the ocean one day. Adora had asked how she knew that and Perfuma had replied, "I just have a feeling."

Perfuma usually talked like this so Adora was used to it. She seemed to know a lot about everything. Adora thought she was super cool. Kind of like a spiritual guide or something.

Adora was walking to her locker and planning her ocean painting when she suddenly tripped up on something. She started to fall forward but caught herself and barely managed not to drop her stuff. She whipped around to see Lonnie, smiling arrogantly.

"Watch your step, new kid," she said with a chuckle and kept walking down the hall.

Adora furrowed her brow and watched Lonnie walk away before angrily turning and continuing towards her locker. Lonnie had become increasingly annoying in the last few days. She hadn't really told Glimmer or Bow about it because she didn't want them to worry about her.

Plus, it was all smaller scale things now. Lonnie hadn't confronted her like the first time. Probably because when Adora was at her locker, Mermista was almost always right next to her.

Mermista was big and Adora could tell that Lonnie didn't want to start anything with the girl unless she had to. However, this didn't stop Lonnie from being a general nuisance when Mermista wasn't around. She would bump into Adora or trip her up like she had today whenever she got the chance. Adora had never known a bully this persistent and had no idea what to do about it.

She wasn't sure if confronting Lonnie about it would be the way to go or not. That might just make things worse. She had also thought about asking Catra if she could tell her to stop, but Catra seemed to not have much hold over the girl and Adora was sick of having other people fight her battles for her.

She decided it was best to just stick it out and wait for Lonnie to get bored with her. She could handle getting bumped around a bit and being called names.

Despite deciding that she could handle Lonnie's pestering for the time being, Adora still found herself worrying about Lonnie for the rest of her next class.

* * *

The rest of the school day passed by incredibly slow for Catra. She kept thinking about what Bow had found out. This would decide if she even had a chance. If she should actually do something with these feelings or just toss them out. She could hardly pay attention in any of her classes, but granted this was pretty normal for her, and she chewed her nails down past the tips, damaging the skin on her fingers.

Catra looked down at her nails during the last class of the day and shook her head at the carnage.

_"I gotta stop doing that. That's nasty," _she scolded herself. She looked at the front of the room where her teacher was going over the textbook and sighed. She spent the last 15 minutes of class not taking her eyes off the clock. She watched each second pass and then the second the bell rang, Catra was gone.

She hurried to her locker and began to pack stuff into her bag. Scorpia walked up and greeted her, somehow managing to get to Catra's locker only seconds after she did.

"Hey, Cat. Why you in such a rush?" She cocked her head and examined her friend as she scrambled about quickly.

"Uh," Catra stalled as she closed her locker, "I have an appointment."

"Oh, huh," Scorpia said thoughtfully. "What for?"

"Teeth," Catra said nonchalantly. "Just a check up."

"Oooh. Well...your teeth look great so I'm sure you'll...pass," Scorpia said awkwardly.

Catra scoffed. "You don't pass dentist appointments. But you do have to show up on time so I better head out." Catra turned to go and Scorpia began to follow. Catra noticed and turned around quickly. "You know it might be better for me to walk out on my own today. So I can, like, get in the right headspace. Like, dentists are creepy, y'know?"

"Oh," Scorpia said, surprised. "Yeah sure. I mean yeah, like they're always sticking tools in your mouth? Yeah it's crazy stuff. You go on ahead, Cat."

"Thanks!" Catra said and immediately sped off down the hallway. Scorpia watched her go, curious as to why she was acting so strangely.

* * *

Catra hid out around the school for a bit, waiting for the majority of the students to clear out of the parking lot. After it was mostly clear and Glimmer and Adora had left for the day, Catra slunk over to Bow's car. This time, she was surprised to find Bow there already.

He was leaning against his car and he had black shades on. As he saw Catra approach he subtly nodded her over.

Catra walked up to the boy trying to hold back her laughter at his ridiculous get-up. When she approached, Bow simply held up his key fob and unlocked his car without saying a word. Catra raised her brow quizzically as Bow hopped in. She hopped in the passenger seat and Bow locked the doors again.

Bow stared off into the distance with his shades reflecting the sun, and said in the gruffest voice he could, "Welcome to my office, Ms. Catra."

"Okay you've let this get to your head, spyboy," she said and pulled the sunglasses off his face.

Bow grasped for the shades. "No those are necessary for my process!" He whined.

"Bow, what's necessary for the process is that you just tell me what you found out and then I go home," Catra replied dryly.

"Well…" Bow said weakly. "Can I at least wear the glasses?"

Catra sighed in defeat. "Fine okay," she tossed the glasses back to him and he immediately put them back on with a huge grin.

"Alright, now what did you get?" Catra said, trying not to appear too desperate despite her overwhelming desperation.

Bow inhaled deeply and bit his lip. "Well. Let's just say...there's good news and bad news."

Catra groaned and tried not to jump to conclusions. "Alright bad first," she said impatiently.

"You sure?" Bow asked.

"Yes! This buildup is killing me!" Catra exclaimed.

"Okay, okay. So basically, Adora has noticed the possible affections of a certain someone…" Bow started.

Catra's heart was pounding and she wondered instantly if that was her. _"Does Adora know somehow? Was I too heavy-handed?" _Her thoughts raced through her mind.

"...but that someone," Bow continued, "is most likely not…...you." Bow pursed his lips and sat back in his seat.

Catra took in the information rapidly. "So...someone else is into her?" Catra asked for clarification.

"Sounds like it," Bow said. "She said it was someone I didn't know. And she knows I know you, so it's gotta be someone else." Bow explained.

Catra quietly tossed things around in her mind. "Alright," she said slowly. "So you don't know who it is?"

"Affirmative," Bow replied.

"Does she...like them back?"

Bow scratched his chin. "Well she said she wasn't crazy about starting anything and she barely knew them so probably not."

Catra let out a sigh of relief.

"But," Bow started, and Catra whipped around to face him, "she did say that they were cute." Bow said this quickly and winced, trying not to upset Catra.

Catra grimaced. "Of course they are. Of course they're cute. Dang it. Who do you think it is? Who does she talk to?" Catra asked quickly.

Bow held up his hands. "Woah! Look I'm not that much of a spy! I don't, like, follow her around. But I know she has some people she talks to, I guess."

Catra perked up. "Who would that be?" She asked.

"Uh wow, well they're just her friends. I extremely doubt they are into her, but let's see," Bow said, thinking about the question. "There's this little freshman named Frosta she talked to once, she told me she's friends with Perfuma, and I guess she talks to Mermista a lot," Bow recalled and Catra clenched her fist beside him.

"Mermista," she growled under her breath.

"Woah!" Bow exclaimed in surprise. "You aren't gonna like hunt these people down and take em out are you?"

Catra rolled her eyes. "Of course not…...but maybe." She added the last part quickly and Bow facepalmed.

"Catra I highly doubt that she is into Mermista or any of her other acquaintances for that matter. If she said it was someone I didn't know then how could it be them? I know them!" Bow reasoned.

Catra shook her head in denial. "She could be trying to throw you off. Classic move. It's definitely Mermista. She's a big, strong babe just like Ad…" Catra froze halfway through Adora's name, remembering suddenly who she was talking to. She felt the blood rush to her face and glanced over to see Bow absolutely livid with joy.

"That's. So. Cuuuuute!" Bow shouted and Catra flinched at the sound. "Adora is your big, strong b…"

"Nope, nope we don't repeat that," Catra interrupted quickly, trying to shrink down as much as she could into her seat.

"Aww fine," Bow said dismissively. "But I think it's adorable just for the record." Catra groaned loudly and Bow continued. "Look I don't think Adora would lie to me about this. I'm pretty sure it's really just someone she doesn't think I know."

"Yeah well we'll see about that," Catra said ominously.

Bow sighed, unsure what the girl meant, but not sure he wanted to know.

"Catra. I think maybe you're going about this the wrong way," Bow said carefully.

Catra shot him a look. "How would you know?"

Bow frowned. "Good point. But I just think if you really like someone...you should just tell them. All this spying and reconnaissance might just make things harder."

Catra heard what he said, but definitely didn't listen. "No I need this, Bow," she said defiantly. "Especially if there's someone else who likes her. I can't compete without a leg up."

Bow frowned. "Well don't sell yourself short! I'm sure you could do it."

"No I can't, Bow," Catra repeated and looked down at the floor of the car.

Bow suddenly felt very sorry for the girl sitting next to him. He was learning a lot about Catra in a short amount of time and it was really changing how he thought about her.

He couldn't help but think that maybe Glimmer had over-exaggerated how bad she was. The person who Bow had thought was mean and uncaring was turning out to be nothing like that at all. Sure she was a little abrasive, but she seemed to be nice at her core. She just had a lot of insecurities and walls built up that kept you from seeing who she was inside.

Bow considered this and reached over slowly. He tentatively put a hand on Catra's shoulder. She instantly recoiled.

"What the hell?" Catra spat as she jumped back.

"Sorry! Sorry," Bow apologized quickly as he rapidly withdrew his hand away from the girl. "I was just trying to calm you down."

"Well I don't need that," she snapped and then rubbed her brow with her fingers. "I feel like an idiot. I just have a stupid crush on a random girl. Heck, I don't even know her that well. But here I am asking you of all people to help me out. It's crazy."

Bow let her sit a while before saying anything. "I...I think it is a little crazy," Bow said quietly. "But I also think love is just supposed to be that way. And hey, maybe it's not meant to be. Maybe Adora just isn't ready. Or something else happens. But I definitely don't think you're an idiot for falling for her. I just think you didn't have a choice." Bow hoped his words helped and looked down at his feet awkwardly.

Catra listened to Bow and took a deep breath, settling into her seat. "That was pretty cheesy. But...I dunno...sorry I freaked out. Long day."

"That's fine," Bow said. "I'm too affectionate and sometimes I mess up with the whole personal space thing."

"Well that's nauseatingly sweet," Catra said sarcastically.

"That's my brand," he replied proudly. He looked over at Catra and was happy to see that she had calmed down a lot. "Would now be a good time for the good news?" He asked cautiously.

Catra nodded. "Yeah go ahead."

"Through my sneaky powers of perception I was able to pick up that Adora accidentally said 'she' when she was talking about her secret admirer. And given the context and Adora's possible openness to this other suitor's advances, I'd say it's a safe bet that our girl ain't exactly a straight shooter."

Catra was glad to hear this. Not all hope was lost. "Alright. This is good. So she could theoretically be into me eventually. So all I have to do is make sure Adora doesn't fall in love with this mystery girl," she said with a newfound determination.

"Uh...well or you could just make sure she falls in love with you instead. You know, lay on the charm?" Bow suggested.

"Nah that won't work," Catra replied dismissively. "I don't think I have enough 'charm.' Plus it's easier to sabotage."

Bow shook his head in disbelief. "Catra I really think you should just tell her. You have plenty of charm!"

"Definitely not," Catra responded without a second thought. "Just last week she hated me. This isn't exactly your traditional romance. Plus I'm not...like…I don't...look like Mermista or whoever it is I'm sure."

Bow started to object but Catra cut him off. "I do not need some Ted Talk about why I'm a beautiful goddess right now."

Bow looked away disappointedly. He had no idea why, but he was almost rooting for Catra in a way. At first the thought of her and Adora seemed wild, but upon getting to know the girl a little better, Bow just had a feeling that they might be good for one another.

Of course, this wasn't his choice to make and he only wanted what was best for Adora. But it still saddened him to see Catra with such low self-confidence. She was so different from what she put on.

"Well then what's your plan? You aren't actually going to try to sabotage anything are you?" Bow asked, concerned.

"No. Not yet at least. For now I'm just gonna pay close attention. Then I'll figure out who this other girl is and then I'll...well I'll go from there," she decided.

"Well that's foreboding," Bow replied. "Just keep in mind that this other girl could like Adora just as much as you. And in the end its all up to Adora. And once again, I recommend just telling h…"

"Yeah okay, mom, I know," Catra cut Bow off. "I'll tell her when I am certain she will say yes. Easy. I just have to cut out loose variables."

Bow smiled at her persistence. He decided if this whole thing did work out, which was a big if, that it would be one heck of a relationship.

"Well if you do decide to try some old fashioned charm, I happen to know that Adora will be at the football game this Friday for my halftime show."

Catra logged this information. "Noted. Okay. I'm gonna do some spy work of my own," Catra said. "If you figure anything else out let me know. But don't do that dumb bird thing."

"Aw, but I liked the bird thing!" Bow complained.

Catra rolled her eyes and started to leave. She opened the car door and then stopped and turned back. "Thanks for helping out," she said quickly. "And I'm gonna borrow these shades," she said as she pulled them off of Bow again.

"Aw man my shades…," Bow said as she turned to leave again. "Take care of them! They're spy shades! And good luck!"

Catra smiled to herself and shut the car door behind her. The boy was starting to grow on her. She slipped on the shades and and walked off, already planning her next steps.

* * *

Later that night, Adora ate dinner with Angella and Glimmer as she normally did.

"You know, Adora, now that you're here, we eat together as a family so much more," Angella was saying. "It's been the highlight of my day." She said cheerily.

Adora smiled. "I like it too. It's nice having a dinner all together."

Glimmer nodded and raised her hand. "I third that. But I also miss when I could just take dinner up to my room and eat and watch YouTube."

Adora laughed and Angella scolded her daughter playfully. "So how was school today?" Angella questioned.

"Pretty good," Glimmer responded first. "But I did spill honey mustard all over my pants."

Adora laughed as she remembered the event at lunch. "Yeah you flipped out!"

"They're, like, my favorite paaaannts," Glimmer complained and Angella smiled.

"Well I'll take a crack at it. I should be able to get it out," Angella said, patting Glimmer's head reassuringly. "And what about you, Adora?"

"It was a pretty basic day. Which is a relief after last week," Adora said and took a sip of her soup.

"Yeah last week was crazy for you!" Glimmer exclaimed. "Has Catra messed with you anymore?"

Adora was taken aback at the mention of Catra and choked on her soup, coughing violently.

"Oh goodness are you okay, Adora?" Angella started to stand up to walk over to her, but Adora nodded and cleared her throat.

"Yeah I'm fine, sorry," she rasped, taking her napkin and cleaning up the mess she had made. "Just suck at eating I guess," Adora said and laughed nervously. "But no...uh…Catra hasn't even said a word to me. I think detention straightened her out," she lied convincingly.

Glimmer nodded contentedly, but Adora could still see the anger in her eyes from just talking about Catra.

Angella looked relieved, but then frowned slightly.

"It's a shame about that girl. She used to be so sweet. I remember when you two went to the skating rink and tried to skate, but you fell down and started just bawling and Catr…" Angella was quickly interrupted by her daughter, whose face had turned a deep shade of red.

"Moooom! No stories!" She whined, clearly embarrassed.

"Oh fine," Angella said. "It's just sad that she has changed so much."

Adora considered that maybe she hadn't changed that much at all. Adora still felt guilty for hanging out with her friend's worst enemy, though.

"Did Lonnie stop messing with you too?" Glimmer questioned, trying to change the topic.

"Um...yeah she did too," Adora lied once again.

"Ah, see? I bet it was her and Catra in on it the whole time," Glimmer theorized. "But then they got bored or something. Or they were scared of a Glimmer Beatdown!"

Angella couldn't help but laugh as she watched her daughter clench her fists in anger. Glimmer was not a fan of this reaction.

"Mom, don't laugh at the Glimmer Beatdown! These fists are weapons! Weapons!" Glimmer exclaimed.

Angela just laughed harder at the sight of her daughter punching at the air. Soon Adora was laughing too and even Glimmer cracked a smile, despite her annoyance at the lack of respect for her fighting prowess.

The rest of dinner went very well and they stayed off of the topic of school. Adora started to think about Catra. She wondered what she was like when she was younger. She also thought about the advice Bow had given her. She was very eager to see Catra in her classes tomorrow so that she could hopefully get an idea for what the girl thought of her. Adora honestly had no idea which outcome she wanted more.

Dinner passed and Adora and Glimmer insisted that they clean up and do the dishes for Angella. More specifically, Adora volunteered and roped the unwilling Glimmer into helping her.

After much complaining and a whole lot of scrubbing, the pair finally finished and admired their work.

"That's a sparkly kitchen," Glimmer said with a sigh. "But was it really even worth it?"

"Yes it was," Adora assured and patted her friend on the back approvingly.

Glimmer yawned. "If you say so. Oh hey! Are you pumped for the football game on Friday?"

"Oh yeah," Adora recalled that Bow had invited them to come and see him perform in the marching band's halftime show this Friday night. "Yeah that sounds pretty fun! Not a big football fan though."

"Oh that's fine, me neither," Glimmer agreed. "But I like seeing Bow play. He's so good. Also nachos. Also cheerleaders and football players are like peak levels of high school hot." She elbowed Adora as she said this and Adora giggled and pushed her arm away.

"Well I'll just hang out with you and we can eat nachos and you can gawk at whoever you want," Adora said with a smile.

"Sounds good to me!" Glimmer said and the two walked out of the kitchen and started to head up to their rooms.

"Oh hey, Glimmer, I'll meet you upstairs. I think I'm gonna go talk to Ange...er...your mom." Adora said.

"Okay cool. What about?" Glimmer asked curiously.

"I think," Adora said carefully, "I might be ready for a phone."

Glimmer's eyes widened in surprise before the girl squealed and hugged Adora tightly. "Oh I'm so glad you're okay with it now! I can put you on every social media! Oh man I'm gonna send you some great memes," Glimmer finally let Adora free from her grasp. "What changed your mind?"

"Well I still feel kind of guilty about asking for things. But it's like you said. She wouldn't offer if it was a problem."

"I'm proud of you," Glimmer said, smiling at her friend. "You go on. I'll be upstairs in my room. We can play some MarioKart before bed."

"Sounds good," Adora responded caringly as Glimmer ran up the steps.

Adora was getting a little better at letting Angella do things for her. And she was starting to settle in here in her new environment. But she hadn't told Glimmer about the main reason she wanted a phone. Adora hadn't told Glimmer a lot of things. As she walked to Angella's room, she shrugged the feelings off.

There was no point in feeling guilty. Her and Catra weren't anything more than...friends. What Glimmer didn't know couldn't hurt her.

_**Even more deceit and plotting! When will it end? Who knows? This chapter was pretty dang fun to write. I've been struggling a bit with some life things recently and writing this story is a good way to ground myself or whatever. I guess writing about angsty teens is good for the soul. Anyway, thank you all for reading and all the lovely support! You're some great folks and I hope you have a wonderful day!**_


	12. Chapter 12

Frosta was sitting in the cafeteria eating breakfast and listening to music when she noticed someone sit down next to her at her table. She looked over to see an older girl she didn't know. She had a dark red jacket on and torn jeans. She was wearing a pair of sunglasses and she took them off slowly, staring at Frosta.

Frosta sighed deeply and paused her music, taking off her headphones. "What do you want? And those shades make you look dumb," she said without missing a beat and she was proud to see the immediate confusion on the girl's face.

"What the…are you Frosta?" Catra asked, squinting at the small girl.

"The one and only," Frosta said crossing her arms in front of her.

"Man, I thought you'd be all sweet and stuff," Catra said more to herself than to the girl.

"You must have me confused with another Frosta," the young girl replied dryly.

"Is there another Frosta?" Catra asked sincerely.

"No," Frosta shot her down quickly. "What do you want? If you're just sitting at my table to make the small kid happy I'm gonna drop kick you."

Catra snorted at the thought of this little girl trying to drop kick anyone. Frosta scowled at the look of amusement on her face and moved to get up.

"No no, wait a second!" Catra pleaded and Frosta slowly sat back down, staring intensely at Catra.

"Look, I just have one question and then I'll leave you alone. Deal?" Catra asked.

Frosta thought it over. "Fine," she said curtly.

"You know Adora, right?" Catra asked innocently.

Frosta cocked her head to one side. "Yeah maybe a little. Why?"

"Has she ever said anything about...I dunno...any other girls?" Catra asked hopefully.

Frosta blinked in confusion. "Oh, are you her girlfriend?"

"What? N…" Catra stopped herself mid-sentence and changed her mind. "Why yes I am," she said slowly. "And as a poor, concerned girlfriend I was just wondering if she had fallen for somebody else."

Frosta narrowed her eyes a bit, but acknowledged Catra's false statement. "Well I haven't. But even if I had I wouldn't tell you. Adora is a sweet angel and if she cheated I'm sure she'd have a good reason. No offense."

Catra stared at the girl. "A sweet angel? Are you by chance interested in Adora?"

"Ew ew ew ew ew no! She's like way older than me! Gross!" Frosta shook her head profusely.

"Okay geez just covering my bases here," Catra said defensively. "Alright that's all...uh...enjoy your breakfast." Catra stood up and put on her shades again.

"Yeah I will!" Frosta yelled after her. "And you look super insane wearing shades inside!"

Catra shook her head at the tenacity of the small child and walked out of the cafeteria. As soon as she turned a corner and was out of eye shot, she removed the glasses and put them in her jacket pocket, self-consciously.

_"Well that was...an experience,"_ Catra thought. _"And I learned nothing. I need someone who's closer to Adora."_

Catra walked off down the hall, scheming.

* * *

Perfuma was walking down the hallway when she noticed somebody walk up beside her accompanied by a vaguely familiar voice.

"Hey, Perfuma! Long time no see," the voice drawled.

Perfuma turned to see Catra walking beside her, a forced smile on her face.

"Catra," Perfuma said, unamused, and quickened her pace down the hallway.

Catra caught up quickly. "Hey what's up with you?" She asked ignorantly.

"Catra, we have only interacted one other time. It was freshman year. You called me a hippie and laughed at me." The normally calm face of Perfuma seemed clouded with uncharacteristic anger.

Catra frowned. "Oh shoot did I?" She thought back and tried to remember what had happened but couldn't for the life of her.

"Yes. You did," Perfuma replied, continuing to try and walk faster to escape the girl.

"Well hey look freshman year was a bad year for me. I'm better now!" Catra insisted, following behind the girl and managing to keep pace with her in the crowded hallway.

"I doubt that," Perfuma replied coldly, arriving at her locker and stopping. With nowhere left to go, Perfuma turned around to face her pursuer.

"Aren't you all into like forgiveness and acceptance and stuff?" Catra asked.

Perfuma frowned. "It is one of my six cardinal virtues," she said almost regrettably.

"Sure. Cardinals or whatever. That means you gotta forgive me right?" Catra asked expectantly.

"Well…if you are on a path of change and self-enlightenment then I _suppose_ I could try to forgive you," Perfuma reasoned with herself.

"I am. I am so very enlightened," Catra said, trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. "And to be honest, I actually am very sorry I was a jerk to you back then."

Perfuma stared at the girl for a while, looking her over. Catra felt like she was staring into her soul and picking it apart. Finally, Perfuma nodded.

"Alright, I forgive you," she said firmly and turned to open her locker.

"Oh," Catra said. "Well that does feel good and all, but I was also gonna ask you a question."

Perfuma sighed and rubbed her brow quickly before returning to her calm composure. "And what would that be?"

"Well see I'm in this psychology class, right? And our project is to learn what people think of us and our partners. And my project partner is Adora, that new girl?" Catra confidently wove the lie she had thought up.

"Yeah I know her," Perfuma replied. "She's very sweet."

"Ah see that's good because I just wanted to know what you thought about her. You know, for the project."

"What do you want to know?" Perfuma asked.

Catra sighed. "I don't know just like some descriptors or whatever. Like is she funny, sweet, kind...maybe attractive?" Catra left this hanging nonchalantly.

"I'd say she's quiet and sweet and creative and good-natured and…" Catra interrupted Perfuma as she started to count off qualities on her fingers.

"That's good. That's good. So you wouldn't say she's like, you know, girlfriend potential?" Catra asked quickly.

"I have no idea what that has to do with this," Perfuma said, taken by surprise.

"It's another question for the project," Catra lied quickly.

"Um...well I think she'd be a very good romantic partner. I mean I'm not interested or anything, but she seems like a good soul," Perfuma decided.

Catra smiled and nodded. "Alright that should do it. Thanks Perfuma!" With that, Catra turned around and walked away, confident that Perfuma was not a potential suitor.

"Don't you need to write this...down?" Perfuma asked, mostly to herself, as Catra walked out of earshot. "What an intriguing girl," she muttered and went back to her business.

* * *

Catra went to her English class a little frustrated. None of her leads had gotten her anywhere. The only thing she had gotten were some ideas as to who it _wasn't._ The only lead she had left was Mermista. And she wasn't exactly sure how to go about that.

Catra was thinking this over when she walked into class. She glanced across the room and her eyes brightened as she spotted Adora. She had been so preoccupied with her morning that she had almost forgotten Adora was in this class with her.

She tried to play it cool as she walked over and slid into the seat beside her. She leaned back in the chair and crossed her arms suavely. Adora looked at the girl, amused, and greeted her.

"Oh hey," Catra said. "Didn't see you there."

Adora's smile faltered just a little bit and Catra realized she was coming across as disinterested. She quickly attempted to recover.

"English class," she said vacantly, scrambling for something to say. "Do you read a lot? You seem smart."

Catra congratulated herself as Adora appeared to take the compliment well. "I don't as much as I used to," she said regrettably. "But I do like reading."

Catra cocked her head to one side, studying the girl. "What do you like to read?" She asked curiously, tapping her desk rhythmically.

"Just kinda anything. Fantasy mostly. Sci-Fi. I also had a real big poetry phase."

"Oooh nice," Catra said with a lopsided grin. "Do a poem right now."

"You don't just 'do a poem,' " Adora said, shaking her head slowly.

"Well why not? You just rhyme some words. I'll do one right now," Catra stated boldly. Adora waited in anticipation, one eyebrow raised.

"I'm here in English…" Catra started and then paused, furrowing her brow. "Dang it well that's not fair. Nothing rhymes with English!" Catra proclaimed loudly.

Mrs. Weaver overheard the statement and began stating words in a deadpan tone from across the classroom. "Extinguish, relinquish, flourish, perish…"

"Alright fine. Point taken, Mrs. Weaver," Catra said, annoyed. Mrs. Weaver went back to getting ready for class and Adora chuckled. Catra perked up at the sound of her laughing. She had a strong, firm voice, but her laugh was light and gentle.

"See?" Adora pointed out with a smile. "Besides, good poetry doesn't even have to rhyme. But it does have to come from somewhere." The way she said it made Catra suddenly want to take up poetry.

"Like from the heart or something like that?" Catra asked sarcastically.

"Kinda like that. You'd know it if you tried it," she explained.

"Well maybe you'll have to give me lessons some day," Catra suggested.

Adora smiled at the idea and started to respond, but the bell rang and cut her off as Mrs. Weaver started class.

Adora shot Catra a look that meant they'd talk after class and then turned to her notes.

Class passed by slowly and Catra found that she couldn't focus at all. She kept wanting to talk to Adora, but she didn't want to get her in trouble again. Even though the thought of another detention with just the two of them sounded pretty great. Eventually, Catra just resigned to taking some notes and doodling in her notepad.

Meanwhile, Adora was having her own trouble focusing. She kept thinking about the advice that Bow had given her. She needed to pay closer attention and see if Catra did any of the things Bow had told her were signs. There was something about eye contact and how she reacted when she got close. And if she acted strange when they talked.

The problem was, Adora didn't know Catra well enough to know if she was just weird, or if the things she did were signs of a crush. She definitely acted different than she used to. She didn't seem as...conniving. But she still had a predatory feel to her. Adora tried to focus on her notes, telling herself that she'd have time for these thoughts later.

* * *

After class, Catra said goodbye to Adora, mentioning she was excited for their workout in weights later. Adora agreed and the two parted ways. However, after taking a few steps in the opposite direction, Catra swiveled around and started casually following Adora.

_"You're not a stalker. You're not a stalker. You're not a stalker," _Catra repeated in her head over and over, trying not to feel guilty for literally gathering intel on her crush.

She followed at a good distance and narrowed her eyes as she noticed Mermista. Her locker was right next to Adora's and the girl seemed to greet Adora as she approached.

Catra hung back and watched, realizing slowly that her plan was not very well fleshed out. She was almost certain that if anyone was the girl she was looking for, it was Mermista. Either that or it was someone else entirely.

Catra watched casually as they talked. It didn't seem very flirtatious. Catra groaned lightly and decided she had to get closer. Maybe she could pick up on something if she could hear them.

She inched closer, making sure to stay behind other people or groups. She eventually made it to the wall of lockers and slid up against the wall. She was only about 5 or so lockers down the hall from Adora, and she could hear Mermista if she listened closely.

"...a total jerk." Catra caught the tail end of Mermista saying something.

"Yeah and he always looks real sweaty," Adora replied. Catra scrunched up her face, confused, and wondered if she was hearing the conversation wrong.

Mermista laughed plainly. "Yeah I get that. Like, I'm not even sure why he works here. Like, don't be a vice principal if you hate teens. And literally everybody else."

Catra realized they were talking about Mr. Hordak and she smiled as she listened to them insult one of her arch enemies. She was continuing to listen when somebody walked up in front of her and shuffled around awkwardly.

"Uh...hey that's my locker," they said nervously.

"Huh?" Catra asked before realizing she was standing in front of the guy's locker and he couldn't get to it. "Oh. Hold on a second," she snapped. The boy looked upset, but didn't argue.

Catra continued to listen to Mermista and Adora chat. It seemed pretty aimless and nothing seemed like what she was looking for. It didn't help that Mermista's voice was so monotone that Catra couldn't tell what emotion she was conveying, if any.

"Hey I gotta get to class," the student spoke up again.

"Fiiiine," Catra complained in a drawn out groan. "Take your dumb locker." She stepped off from the wall and melded back into the crowd. She slunk away in defeat, wondering how she was supposed to figure all this out.

Being a spy was hard. She wondered how Bow had done so well. _"Well I just asked nicely and used my feelings," _Catra imagined Bow saying in her head and scoffed. She was doing this her way and she was gonna figure out what she wanted to know if it was the last thing she did.

* * *

Scorpia sat at her usual lunch table, waiting for Catra and bouncing her leg up and down excitedly. She had heard the first announcement for the Fall Formal this morning and she was already brimming with ideas for how to ask Catra to go with her. The dance wasn't as big a deal as Prom, but any chance to spend a night with Catra was an important event for Scorpia.

She sighed dreamily and thought of how fun it would be. They could wear complementary outfits. Catra looked so good in suits. And Scorpia could pick her up at her house and drive her over. And they could own the dance floor and feed each other chocolate covered strawberries. And then maybe that night Scorpia could finally tell Catra how she felt about her.

"Oh boy," Scorpia distantly heard a voice say beside her, snapping her out of her fantasy. "I know that face," Kyle said with a smile as he and Rogelio took a seat at the table. "You thinking about her?" He asked knowingly.

"What? No. I wasn't…" Scorpia's shoulders dropped. "Yes," she said defeatedly.

"Scorpia we talk about it like every other week. It's not a secret," Kyle said, reassuring his friend. "At least not to me."

Rogelio nodded his silent agreement.

"Yeah I know," Scorpia admitted. "I wish it was as obvious to her as it was to you guys."

"Yeah well you know Catra," Kyle said with a little smile. "Ignorant until proven guilty."

Scorpia laughed and nodded, thinking about how cute even Catra's ignorance could be. "I was thinking...maybe I'll tell her at the Fall Formal."

Kyle looked at Rogelio and the two shared a brief disbelieving look. "I think that's a great idea. But you gotta actually do it this time," he insisted.

"I know, I know," Scorpia said, brushing him off. "I don't have a great track record. But I really think this is the time. I can...feel cogs turning."

"Well I can't wait," Kyle said with a supportive smile. "I would love to see you finally tell her."

"Thanks Kyle," Scorpia said appreciatively. "If anyone ever likes you I will be right on the sidelines cheering you on!"

Kyle frowned a little. "People...like me," he muttered to himself and Rogelio patted his head gently.

Scorpia was about to go back to her daydreaming when Lonnie walked up to the table and sat down. "Hey guys," she greeted them as she sat. "I feel like I haven't sat here in, like, forever!"

Scorpia nodded. "Yeah it has been a while. You're early today!"

"Yup," Lonnie said proudly. "I speedwalked all the way from class and cut in line just to get a seat with you losers," she said with a smile. "How's your day been, Kyle," she asked the small boy.

"Pretty good," he said cautiously.

"Well that's a shame," Lonnie said with a chuckle.

Scorpia would feel bad for Kyle, but he was so used to this pestering that it hardly affected him anymore. He just went back to sipping his milk. Scorpia perked up instantly as she saw Catra walking up to the table.

"Howdy," Catra greeted them as she took her spot next to Scorpia. Lonnie immediately shot Catra an obvious look of disdain and Catra pretended to ignore it.

"Hey, Catra," Lonnie said slowly. "You know it's really funny how the one day I get here before you, my seat is still here and not taken by some stranger." Lonnie stared coldly at Catra, who returned a blank stare.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about," Catra said, not even bothering to hide her sarcastic tone. Scorpia bit her lip and looked from Lonnie to Catra nervously. Kyle and Rogelio were also warily watching the tense exchange.

"You know, I'm done playing games," Lonnie said in frustration. "What has been up with you lately?"

Catra slowly exhaled and took a bite of a baby carrot. "What do you think, Lonnie?" Catra asked curiously, locking eyes with the girl. "If you had to guess? Take your time, I'll wait."

Lonnie scowled and shook her head. "No I'm not messing around anymore. You're gonna tell me why you keep ignoring me and kicking me out of the table."

Catra chuckled. "Am I gonna do that, Lonnie? Will that make it better?" Catra asked condescendingly.

Lonnie slammed her fist on the table suddenly, causing Catra to jump back a bit in surprise. Lonnie smiled at the reaction she got.

Scorpia put a hand on Catra's shoulder defensively. "Calm down Lonnie. We can just talk about it." Catra shrugged off Scorpia's hand and pointed an accusatory finger at Lonnie.

"Yeah maybe we should talk about it," Catra said angrily. "Let's talk about how you're too big of a jerk now to even be around!"

Lonnie's face twisted in confusion. "What is that supposed to mean?" She questioned loudly.

"It means exactly what I'm saying Lonnie. You're. A. Jerk." Catra could see the anger brimming in Lonnie's eyes and knew she had crossed a point, but it felt too good to finally say this out loud. "We're your only 'friends' and not even we like you! You pick on everyone you possibly can. You're always starting things. I haven't enjoyed your company since freaking 8th grade back when you were a decent human being! You're a hateful wreck and you make the rest of us look bad."

Catra was breathing heavily now and everybody at the table was wide-eyed and dead silent. Catra didn't usually blow up like this.

Lonnie's expression had shifted from anger to a confused and hurt look that she was poorly trying to hide. She opened her mouth to speak and then closed it again. She sat, almost dazed for a moment. She then grabbed her lunch tray, stood up abruptly, and left the table without saying another word.

Catra watched her go and then turned back to her lunch silently. Scorpia looked to Kyle and Rogelio for help. Kyle shrugged and Rogelio made a hugging motion with his arms. Scorpia mouthed a thank you to the boy and then cleared her throat.

"Do you need a hug?" she asked Catra quietly.

Catra sighed and scooted her chair back from the table. "No thanks. But I could use some ice cream. I'll be back," she said firmly as she stood up and headed towards the kitchen. Scorpia frowned, both at the refusal of the hug and at Catra's distress, but she let her go anyway.

The table watched her walk away and they sat awkwardly for a moment before Kyle spoke up. "Wow," he said simply.

* * *

Catra walked back into the cafeteria, Klondike bar in hand, and decided she had done enough beating around the bush. She walked over to a table where Mermista was sitting with some friends, and tapped Mermista on the shoulder.

The girl turned around and grunted when she saw Catra. "What's up?"

"Hey can we walk and talk?" Catra asked bluntly, no longer worried about trying to be sneaky.

Mermista thought it over. "Sure, whatever. But I want half the Klondike."

"Deal," Catra agreed and Mermista got up to follow her. Catra led her over to a hallway beside the cafeteria where the two sat on a bench out of earshot of anybody.

"This, like, isn't even walking and talking," Mermista pointed out. "What do you want?"

"Are you into Adora?" Catra blurted out and Mermista raised an eyebrow before she started to shake a little and Catra realized she was laughing quietly.

"What's so funny?" Catra asked, annoyed.

"It just makes sense or whatever. Like, that's why you were her little stalker today," Mermista said with a small smile.

Catra furrowed her brow. "You...you saw that?" She asked, embarrassed. "And it wasn't stalking!" She added quickly.

"Whatever you wanna call it," Mermista said calmly. "And yeah I saw it. I also saw last week that you sent Scorpia over to come and break up me and Adora and Lonnie. And now it all, like, makes total sense."

"Jesus," Catra exhaled, surprised at how much Mermista had picked up on. "Is there anything you don't know?" She asked in admiration.

"Doubt it," Mermista said with a proud smirk. "But really though. Adora's, like, super sweet or whatever, but she's not my type."

"Oh thank goodness," Catra said under her breath.

Mermista laughed. "Yeah you wouldn't stand a chance if I was in the running," Mermista said confidently and Catra agreed silently. "Also why'd you ask? Are you just asking everyone she knows?" Mermista said more as a joke than an actual question.

Catra laughed nervously and Mermista instantly realized that Catra was doing just that.

"Oh wow. You're in deep, huh?"

Catra just nodded and looked down at her feet.

"Why are you staking her out and everything?" Mermista asked, genuinely curious at this point.

Catra rolled her eyes. "Well basically I talked to Bow and Bow said that she said that she thought that somebody else was into her and so that means I have competition and if it's down to a choice between me and them, I don't like my odds."

Mermista shook her head, dazed at the confusing amount of details. "Wow this is like out of a trashy teen drama or something. But I literally know your problem."

Catra perked up and looked hopefully at the girl next to her. "You do?"

"Yeah. Like, girl, you are trying way too hard in all the wrong ways. You don't gotta go pushing out the competition, you just gotta lay on the charm." Mermista said slyly.

"You sound like Bow," Catra groaned.

"Well then he's got the right idea too. It's a lot easier to woo a girl than it is to obliterate her other suitors, even though that sounds, like, super awesome."

"Right?" Catra agreed before taking a moment to consider Mermista's advice. "I don't know though. I don't think I really have what it takes to 'woo her' or whatever," Catra said honestly.

"Meh. You got it in the bag," Mermista said assuredly. "You got that, like, bad boy vibe going for you. Girls dig that."

Catra smiled a little. "I guess," she said unconvincingly.

"You're so pathetic," Mermista said with a monotone laugh. "Look just be yourself or whatever they say in the movies."

"Alright. Any more advice?" Catra looked to the girl hopefully.

Mermista scoffed in response. "I'm not your guidance counselor, dude. Look it up on WikiHow or something."

Catra smiled and rubbed her eyes, tired out from all of the stress of the day. "I'll figure it out," Catra said more to herself than to Mermista. "And hey if you could not tell Adora about this it'd be great."

"I'm no snitch," she assured. "I'll just watch in amusement from the sidelines. Feel free to come and awkwardly flirt by my locker. I can, like, silently judge you."

"I'll keep that in mind," Catra said as she got up from the bench. "Oh shoot the ice cream," she remembered and opened the bar to try and break it in half.

"Keep it," Mermista said, brushing her flowing hair back behind her ears. "This chat was totally worth it."

Catra grinned. "Thanks. See you later," she said over her shoulder as she left. Mermista just lazily saluted her in response. Catra wondered how Mermista was so cool and then walked back towards her friends, already thinking up an excuse for being gone so long.

* * *

Scorpia was worried about Catra. For one, the whole thing with Lonnie was clearly a sore spot. Scorpia had tried to talk about it and Catra had quickly shot her down. On top of that, when she had left the lunch table she was in a terrible mood, and somehow when she came back, she seemed a lot better. When they asked what had happened, she had just said that it was good ice cream.

They hadn't cooked that day in Culinary Essentials so Scorpia never get the chance to talk to her about it, and on the way to weights Catra insisted on only talking about her theory that the healthier a food was, the worse it tasted.

Scorpia wished Catra was more of a talker, but she figured if she needed her help she'd ask. Before they walked into the weights room, Catra turned to Scorpia.

"Oh hey, I forgot to tell you, but that new girl, Adora, got me to agree to working out with her so I'm gonna do that today." Catra rolled her eyes dramatically, pretending that she wasn't enthused by the idea of getting to spend more time with Adora.

"What, but…" Scorpia stammered. "We always work out together. That's our thing." The girl frowned deeply.

"Oh," Catra said, not expecting Scorpia to react this way. "Well we'll still work out together I'm sure! Just not today," Catra said supportively.

Scorpia felt hurt, but it wasn't her job to tell Catra who she should hang out with. "Okay," she said regretfully. "What if I work out with you guys?" She sounded hopeful at her own idea and Catra winced slightly.

_"How am I supposed to 'lay on the charm' with Scorpia there?" _Catra wondered.

"Uh…" Catra started, unsure how to word what she wanted to say. "Maybe not today. But definitely some time in the future. Definitely."

Scorpia's hope at the thought of a compromise instantly faded and she just nodded glumly. Catra felt very uncomfortable. She briefly considered just telling Scorpia about Adora, but decided that too many people already knew. Plus, it would only make it more embarrassing if it didn't work out. Catra just settled for putting a hand on Scorpia's shoulder.

Scorpia looked surprised at the contact and stared at Catra. "We're still gym buddies, alright?" Catra reminded her.

"Alright," Scorpia said and then exhaled deeply. "Okay. Yeah that's fine. I'm fine. Sounds good," Scorpia said quickly. Her feelings were still a little hurt, but the reassurance helped.

"Cool," Catra said with a smirk and the two walked into the weights room together.

* * *

After Ms. Huntara got done talking to the class, Scorpia shuffled off awkwardly to the corner of the gym and tried to make herself feel alright about this change, wondering what she could have done wrong to make Catra not want to hang out with her anymore.

Catra watched Scorpia walk away and felt a little bad. This bit of guilt soon mixed with nervousness as she looked over and saw Adora staring at her from the spot they had been in the other day. The girl waved Catra over and Catra strolled towards her, not sure if she was more scared or excited.

"Hey," Adora greeted her as she approached. "How're you?"

"Oh you know," Catra said, overthinking the greeting, "I'm doing pretty...well." Catra instantly felt stupid.

"Well good," Adora said, not seeming to notice anything amiss. "You're gonna need the energy," she said with an evil grin.

Catra suddenly remembered that this was the price she paid for extra Adora time. She had to actually do things. Catra managed to not appear too disgusted by the idea of actually working out and just nodded. "Sounds good. I better be ripped when we're done!"

Adora smiled at the girl's enthusiasm. "Well that'll take a while, but we sure can start." Adora was excited to get to work out with somebody else for once. As much as she liked having the time to herself, Catra was pretty low energy nowadays and Adora always felt good talking to her.

But, she wasn't _only _doing this for workout reasons. Adora was also determined to see if Catra exhibited any of the telltale signs that Bow had mentioned.

_"It's just out of curiosity," _Adora told herself what she had been telling herself for a while now. _"I'll just find out what she wants and what those words meant and then...well…" _Adora decided there was no need to think that far ahead. She just knew that Catra had been on her mind a surprising amount lately and she needed to nail down where the girl was coming from.

Adora looked at her new workout buddy, who was balancing on her heels and looking around the room distractedly. "How about we just start with some stretching?" Adora suggested, and Catra nodded.

"Sure stretching is...cool," Catra said vaguely and cursed herself silently for her awkwardness. She was so good at talking to people who weren't Adora. This whole flirting thing was going to be a lot harder than she thought.

The pair stretched and listened to the music that was playing from the weight room's speakers. It was Ms. Huntara's playlist and had a lot of heavy metal.

"So," Catra said, trying to break the silence, "You work out a lot?"

Adora half nodded. "Not as much as I'd want to. I used to do it a lot more, but now it's just in this class."

"Oh. Well I can tell," Catra said taking a stab at a compliment.

Adora snorted. "You can tell I don't work out as much anymore?" She asked jokingly.

"No!" Catra said quickly. "No I meant like I can tell you did. And do! Workout. Because you're...you know, you're real strong," she blurted out.

Adora smiled. "I was just messing with you. But thanks," she said sincerely.

"Well yeah, I mean, I just call it how I see it," Catra said with a sigh. This whole conversation felt like a losing battle.

Adora wondered if Catra's current behavior qualified as weird or not. Adora didn't know Catra all that well, but she had seen Catra smooth talk and this definitely wasn't it.

_"Now that doesn't just mean that she's head over heels for you," _Adora reminded herself. _"Maybe she's just having a weird day. Or it's just totally unrelated."_

Catra tried and failed not to watch Adora as she stretched and she had to keep quickly averting her eyes. "Alright that's enough stretching for me, I think," Catra said decisively.

"Alright sweet," Adora said excitedly, "then now we can get into it! Let's start with deadlifts."

Catra winced. Nothing about a 'deadlift' sounded fun in any way. "Sounds cool," she said, despite her reservation.

Catra watched in silent horror as Adora set up a big lifting bar on the ground. Catra cast a forlorn glance over to her treadmill, where she had always felt comfortable. She noticed Scorpia over there doing sit ups with nobody to hold her feet in place. Catra frowned slightly and then turned back to Adora.

"Alright let's do this death lift thing," Catra said, determined.

"Deadlift," Adora said with a smile before waving Catra over.

Catra walked up and Adora set her up in front of the bar. Catra looked down at the stretch of metal by her feet.

"Okay well I assume I lift it," Catra said stretching her arms out. "I'm not sure where the dead part comes in, but I'm here for it."

Adora chuckled. "Okay well you're gonna wanna grab it," she instructed.

Catra leaned down and grabbed the bar with both hands. Adora knelt down beside her and reached out. She lightly grasped the back of Catra's hands and moved them into a better position on the bar.

Catra almost flinched at the touch, not because it wasn't wanted, but because it was unexpected. The feeling of Adora's warm grasp on her hands made her shiver a little and Adora noticed.

"Man it's cold in here," Catra said, holding her breath and trying not to meet Adora's eyes.

Adora eyed the girl curiously. She wasn't sure what to think, but she agreed if only for Catra's sake. "Yeah it is a little chilly."

"Yeah. Tank tops are the worst. I should get, like, a sweatshirt. Or something," Catra said nervously.

Adora smiled. "Well the cold won't stop you from lifting this bar. Grab in those spots and put your feet shoulder width apart."

Catra did as she was told, thankful that Adora hadn't noticed anything, or at least hadn't said anything. Catra wasn't sure how she was supposed to 'flirt' or 'appear attractive' when being around Adora practically made her brain dead. It felt like there was a layer of cotton around her mind and she just couldn't think straight.

But focusing on this lift kind of helped and Catra braced herself in the position that Adora had outlined. Adora nodded affirmatively.

"Perfect. And now you're gonna pull up on the bar while straightening your back and lifting your chest up. And then you'll get to a vertical position, hold the bar for a second, and then put it back down." Adora instructed.

"Uh. So just lift and stand up with it?" Catra asked, eyeing the bar she was grasping.

"Yeah basically," Adora replied. "But don't lift with your back. And if you can't get it up then don't try too hard."

Catra nodded and braced herself before squatting down and pulling up on the bar. She struggled a little at first and started to breathe heavily, but managed to get it up and straighten her back. She was surprised at her ability and got a rush of confidence. She looked over to Adora and flashed her a proud smile before lowering the bar back to the ground.

"Whoo!" Catra exclaimed as she stepped back. "Did you see that?" She asked Adora excitedly.

Adora nodded and smiled widely. "Yeah you did great!" She came over and clapped a hand onto Catra's shoulder. Catra swore her heart seized up for a second as Adora made contact with her skin, but managed not to react as obviously this time.

"Yeah, uh, that was way easier than I thought! It felt good too. I felt super buff," Catra said.

Adora chuckled and began to add more weight onto the bar.

"You know," Catra said jokingly with a toothy grin, "I'm probably at your level already. Just with my natural talent."

Adora turned around and raised her eyebrows at the girl. "Oh yeah?" She asked, amused by Catra's newfound confidence.

"Probably," Catra said matter-of-factly, leaning back against the wall. "I feel like I coulda lifted three of those!"

Adora shook her head before going and grabbing even more weights to put on the bar. "Well we'll see about that," Adora said forebodingly as she finished setting up the new weight.

Adora gestured to the bar on the ground and Catra snorted. "Is this a challenge?" Catra asked, tilting her head to the side slightly. "Because I just wanna warn you, I'm a trained professional now." Catra cracked her knuckles and stepped up to the bar.

Adora just watched smugly and Catra shot her one more glance. "Try not to feel too bad when I beat your high score or whatever," Catra said mockingly.

She rubbed her hands together and then placed them down on the bar, grasping it firmly. She took a deep breath and then pulled up suddenly. She immediately gasped in shock as she tried to lift the weight and couldn't even get it off the ground. A look of strained confusion crossed her face and she heard Adora laughing beside her. This made her want to lift it even more and she strained even harder just to try and get it up in the air, but her best efforts could only wiggle the bar around on the floor.

After a few moments of struggling, Catra finally gave up, her face red and panting. She turned to face Adora who laughed even more at the sight of her.

"Yeah, yeah," Catra said tiredly. She was more happy to see Adora laugh than she was actually embarrassed.

"Wow that was priceless," Adora said wiping a tear from her eye. "'Oh look at me I'm a weightlifting champion, watch out,'" Adora mocked Catra with a grin.

Catra smirked a little at the dig. "I maaay have overstated my skills just barely. But that was impossible! You put like 2,000 pounds on there!"

Adora stopped giggling immediately when she heard this and took a deep breath. She stretched her arms behind her back as she slowly walked over and positioned herself above the bar. Catra moved aside and stood transfixed, certain that there was no way Adora could lift that.

Adora squatted down and gripped the bar and steadied herself for a moment. She then exploded into movement as she jerked upwards against the weight. Her arms bulged and a small groan escaped her lips as the bar began to rise up.

Catra watched in absolute awe, feeling pride for Adora along with an extreme amount of physical attraction. Adora managed to get the bar up to a standing position and gritted her teeth into a satisfied smile before lowering it back to the ground.

She straightened back up, put her hands on her hips, and breathed a heavy sigh before looking at Catra with a prideful glare.

Catra just held her hands up in defeat. "Okay you win. That was impossibly incredible. You're like an actual goddess."

Adora smiled to herself and looked away quickly. Catra couldn't tell if her face was red from the physical exertion or from the compliment, but she definitely noticed the positive reaction and mentally congratulated herself.

"Well that was fun," Catra stated, rubbing her biceps. "A good workout."

Adora looked at the girl questioningly. "Catra, that was just the first exercise."

Catra frowned immediately. This was gonna be a long day.

_**Weights room Catradora is the content I need in my life. That chapter was super long! And based on my plans for the next few chapters they might be pretty long too. But I like writing until I feel like I've reached a good stopping point and if it takes more or less then I'm cool with that. Anyway, I'm enjoying where everything is going. Real fun. And I'm just gonna thank everyone for reading and saying sweet things again because it always makes me happy. I wish you all well!**_


	13. Chapter 13

_**Just a quick warning. This chapter has some real light language (I kept it T rating for sure even though I was tempted to go harder). A**__**lso there is quite a lot of violence. It's still all within a T rating. I hope this isn't a problem for anyone. **_

"Aggghh! It's in my eye. I can feel it in my eye," Adora panicked as Glimmer pulled back from her face with the brush and sighed.

"It's not in your eye," Glimmer told Adora for the hundredth time since she had started applying Adora's makeup.

"You sure?" Adora asked, grabbing a hand mirror to check for herself. "Okay. Well it isn't. But it feels like it is!"

Glimmer shook her head at the wreck that was Adora. When Glimmer had found out that her foster sister had never really worn any makeup, she had been extremely excited to do it for her. Glimmer had thought it would be fun if they did it before the football game in a few hours. Glimmer had been wrong.

Adora was constantly in fear that the makeup was going to get in her eye and she flinched reflexively every time Glimmer got close to her lids. Angella had already come up at one point to check on the girls and make sure the pained yelling wasn't due to an injury.

"We're almost done," Glimmer reassured her friend and Adora looked relieved.

"Oh good," she said with an exhale. "I can't take much more of this."

"You are such a drama queen," Glimmer said with a grin as she went in one last time with the eyeliner. Adora flinched instantly, but Glimmer was used to it at this point and managed to finish up the last eye. She stepped back and nodded her head satisfactorily.

"That's about as good as can be for what I was working with," she said, proud of her work.

Adora smiled bashfully and looked in the mirror. "Wow," she said slowly, moving her head from side to side and raising her eyebrows. "It's really pretty."

"Thanks!" Glimmer exclaimed, glad that she was able to make Adora happy despite the difficulty. "But honestly, you're lucky enough to be someone who doesn't need even need makeup to be pretty."

"Oh, Glimmer," Adora said holding a hand to her heart. "That's so sweet. I disagree. But you're very sweet."

"Well it's the truth," Glimmer insisted. "You got some serious pretty up in you."

Adora laughed at this and went back to looking at her makeup. "It feels weird. Thick."

Glimmer chuckled at her naivety. "Yeah you get used to it. But I doubt you're gonna wanna do this regularly."

Adora shook her head. "Definitely not. But I know you're super good at it if I need it!"

Glimmer patted herself on the back and started putting her makeup back into her bag. "You wanna do lipstick too?" She asked curiously.

"Uhhhhhh," Adora pondered the question. "What does it taste like?"

Glimmer snorted. "Well you don't eat it."

"I know you don't eat it!" Adora exclaimed. "I just don't want it on my lips if it tastes bad!"

"Ohhh," Glimmer said, amused by the whole situation. "Well this light pink one tastes kinda fruity." She held up a stick from her small pile.

"Okay hit me with the fruity," Adora said decisively. "But if I don't like it I'm washing it off!"

Glimmer rolled her eyes and couldn't help but smile as she put started putting lipstick on Adora.

"You know this is something I always wanted to do with a brother or sister," Glimmer said softly as she brushed a light pink color onto Adora's pursed lips. "I'm glad I finally can."

Adora's face creased. "You're gonna make me cry all my makeup off. You're a great foster sister, Glimmer," Adora said through her pouted lips.

Glimmer laughed at her strange voice. "You're a great foster sister too," she replied. "Even if you're insufferable to do makeup for!"

Adora shrugged and Glimmer finished up on her lips. "Voila!" She exclaimed and blew a kiss.

"Man I look so different," Adora said, shocked at her reflection.

"In a good way?" Glimmer asked.

"Yeah in a good way. And in a confusing and thick-feeling way," she replied honestly.

"You wanna do mine now?" Glimmer asked her friend.

Adora looked at Glimmer questioningly. "Do you want to look terrible?"

"I don't mind! It'll be fun! And if it's too bad I can just redo some of it," Glimmer assured, already sorting through her pile quickly.

"It's your funeral," Adora said regretfully as she picked up a strange looking tube and looked it over.

* * *

"It looks like you have a black eye. And a terrible skin disease on top of that." Adora said shaking her head. Glimmer laughed at the assessment and couldn't help but agree a little as they both looked her face over in the mirror.

"Yeah I can see that. But hey, for your first time this is pretty good!" Glimmer tried to reassure the girl.

"If you say so," Adora said doubtfully. "It was actually kinda fun."

"I told you!" Glimmer expressed happily before looking back at her face in the mirror and laughing. "I'm sending a picture of this to Bow."

"Oh no!" Adora whined as Glimmer took the picture. "Nobody should have to see this!"

"Too late," Glimmer said contentedly as she hit send. "Besides maybe Bow will see this as a call to arms and he will help you with makeup sometime. That boy is a makeup legend. He taught me everything I know."

"Wow," Adora said reverently and then felt a buzz in her pocket. She instantly became excited as she recognized the buzz as the vibration of her first phone. She pulled it out of her pocket and saw a message from Bow.

The message read: "That's a beautiful first try. Also we're definitely doing makeup together sometime." Then he had put a bunch of heart and clapping emojis. Adora just shook her head and showed the message to Glimmer.

"Called it," she said, wiping off some of her makeup and reapplying. "How are you liking the new phone?"

"It's pretty cool! I like having the internet everywhere." Adora said, looking her phone over. She was still getting used to the thing. She had Glimmer and Bow and Angella's numbers in her contacts and she had just gotten Perfuma's number today in art. Perfuma said that she wasn't a big fan of digital distractions, but that she needed Pinterest to live.

"And what about my memes?" Glimmer asked expectantly as she continued to redo her makeup.

Adora rolled her eyes. "Yes the endless tirade of memes that you send me is very entertaining."

"That's right they are," Glimmer asserted. "Those are choice memes."

Adora shook her head, put her phone back in her pocket, and admired Glimmer's progress. "That's looking way better already. You fixed that big spike I made."

Glimmer chuckled. "Well the big spike is called a wing. And yeah it may have been a little extreme."

Adora shook her head and went to grab her outfit. She had put more thought into what she was wearing than she usually did. This may have been a little due to the fact that Catra had told Adora she'd be going to the game tonight.

She thought about Catra being there and instantly grew nervous. She knew she couldn't talk to Catra with Glimmer nearby because that would be a huge mess. But she did _want_ to talk to Catra. They had a lot of fun in weights class the other day and Adora was realizing that she really enjoyed the time she spent with the unpredictable girl.

The added mystery of whether or not Catra was into her just made it even more fun. Adora still wasn't able to tell for sure. She had a couple clues, but at times she was certain Catra just wanted to be good friends. It was generally confusing, but at the very least, Adora knew that Catra was a fun person to hang out with.

She put on a grey long sleeved shirt and put a nice maroon jacket on over it. She slipped on a pair of black jeans and looked at herself in the mirror. She smiled approvingly as she took her new look in and Glimmer gasped as she saw the girl's reflection.

"You look so good!" Glimmer squealed, her makeup now mostly recovered. "What made you wanna get all fancied up for a football game?"

Adora shrugged. "Just thought I'd give it a shot," she replied, ignoring the real answer to that question.

* * *

Angella dropped the girls off at the football stadium a little early so they could see the band's pregame show.

"Be safe and have fun, girls! You both look very pretty! Tell Bow I said hi!" Angella yelled after them as they got out of the car.

Glimmer and Adora waved back and nodded before heading into the stadium. Adora was instantly uncomfortable. There was nothing like a new place with a ton of people to really get her on edge. She had figured this would happen though, and just tried to focus on other things.

She looked around and noticed a lot of people from school. Not anybody she had talked to, but students she had seen walking around.

She did, however, recognize Mr. Hordak leaning up against a row of bleachers. She grimaced at the sight of him and Glimmer caught the glare.

"Oh yeah. Mr. Hordak is always at the games. He makes sure the students don't get too rowdy. What a jerk." Glimmer led Adora away from him and down towards a specific row of seats closer to the field.

As they walked, Adora noticed Frosta sitting with some of her younger friends. Adora waved at her as they passed and Frosta looked around quickly before waving back.

Adora smiled and kept following Glimmer. They soon got to a row of bleachers that satisfied Glimmer and the pair took a seat. It was a little chilly out and it was already getting dark. Students and members of the community were talking loudly and the sound of footsteps on bleachers was everywhere. Old rock hits were playing out of the stadium speakers and huge lights lit up the field as the sun slowly sank below the horizon. The smell of popcorn filled the cool air.

Adora was busy looking around her. She hadn't seen Catra anywhere. Not that she would necessarily want to see Catra, seeing as she was with Glimmer. Still, she couldn't help but scan the bleachers for the girl.

Glimmer looked over and noticed she was looking around. "Whatcha looking for?" She asked kindly.

"Uh…the concession stand," Adora said quickly.

"Look no longer!" Glimmer enthused and pointed over towards the corner of the stadium. Adora saw a small building built in behind the bleachers and nodded.

"Thanks, Glimmer," she said graciously and turned back to the field, trying to think about something that wasn't Catra.

"Anytime," she replied sweetly and then slapped Adora's leg and pointed over to the edge of the field. "There's the band!"

Adora followed Glimmer's direction and noticed a mass of red and white uniformed students getting into lines over by the edge of the field.

"Which one do you think is Bow?" Adora asked, squinting down at the band.

"Hmm. Probably that one that's running in place over there," Glimmer said with a giggle and Adora agreed.

"What instrument does he play? I totally forgot to ask him."

"Trumpet. He used to play flute but he was God awful so he switched. And now it turns out that he's a fantastic trumpeter! He's first chair right now!" Glimmer said pridefully.

"First chair?" Adora questioned.

"Oh yeah that just means he's the best trumpet or whatever," Glimmer explained.

"Cool," Adora said lightly.

"Did you ever play an instrument?" Glimmer asked, shuffling around on the bleachers to get more comfortable.

"Nah I never did. They're pretty expensive and we didn't have a great program at our old school," she explained.

"Oh well that sucks," Glimmer said bluntly. "Do you want to play one? You could get one now! We could start a band!"

Adora smirked at Glimmer's excitement, but shook her head. "No I don't think I'd be any good. But I would like to learn to play violin one day. It's such a pretty instrument."

"Well it'll be a really weird band if we have you on violin and Bow in trumpet," Glimmer remarked thoughtfully.

"What are you gonna play?" Adora asked, nudging her friend.

"Oh I am above instruments," Glimmer said with a wave of her hand. "I will be lead singer!"

"Woah. Do you sing?" Adora asked.

"I mean, I took choir one year," Glimmer said dismissively. "And I sing in the car and the shower all the time."

"And you do have a really pretty voice," Adora acknowledged.

Glimmer smiled. "Flattery will get you everywhere," she said happily.

The two were interrupted by a drum beat from over where the band was. The pair looked over to see that everyone was lined up in straight lines and was marching in time to a drum beat. The announcer's voice came over the speakers and announced the band.

The voice was extremely excited and filled to the brim with energy. Adora instantly recognized it. "Is that…?"

"Mr. Hawk?" Glimmer finished for her. "Yup. He commentates for literally every sports event in town so get used to that moustached voice."

Adora laughed and watched on as a whistle blew from the band. The drums clicked in time for a few moments before a strong opening note erupted from the band and they began to march out. Glimmer cheered and Adora clapped as the band energetically played the alma mater for Etheria High.

The marching was fun to watch and although Adora hadn't seen many band shows in her day, this one seemed pretty well-oiled. There were too many students to spot Bow, but Adora enjoyed watching the performance regardless.

After one more short and peppy song, the band marched off and the drum majors took a bow.

"Just wait till their halftime show," Glimmer told Adora as she clapped. "Their theme is 'The Wild West' this year and it sounds super cool."

Adora smiled and listened as the announcer began to announce the football team. She took this moment to look around the bleachers again. She couldn't find Catra for the life of her and soon gave up.

Glimmer sighed as she watched the football players run out. "And now for the timeless sport of watching people slam into each other for a ball. Classic," Glimmer joked as she watched the team run out.

Adora couldn't help but agree as she had never seen the entertainment in the sport. She began to respond when she felt something small lightly bounce off of the back of her head. She turned around, confused, and instantly saw Catra standing at the fence a few rows above where her and Glimmer sat. She was holding a bag of popcorn and laughing at Adora's reaction.

Adora scowled and then turned back to Glimmer. "Hey I'm gonna run to the bathroom real quick, " Adora said as she stood up from her seat.

"Okay cool. You want me to go with you?" Glimmer asked.

"I should be good on my own. Where is it though?" She asked.

Glimmer pointed back over to the concession stand. "It's like right by the concessions. Can't miss it."

Adora thanked her and walked up the steps slowly. Catra saw her coming and what confidence she had quickly drained away as Adora got closer. She looked beautiful. Catra had never seen her in makeup or not wearing that hoodie she always wore. Catra thought she looked great all the time, of course, but tonight she was especially stunning.

Catra tried to collect herself as she approached. Adora walked up and Catra started to greet her, but was cut off as Adora quickly reached into her popcorn bag, took a piece, and threw it harmlessly at Catra's face. Catra was stunned by the sneak attack and Adora laughed at the expression on her face.

"Had to get you back for that," Adora said proudly. "Here let's go over there." She pointed to a dim, grassy spot that was back behind the bleachers and out of the way of all the crowds.

Catra walked with her and they went and sat down on the cool grass together. Catra couldn't help but notice Adora looking around nervously.

"You know being seen with me wouldn't be the end of the world," Catra said sarcastically.

"Well it's not that I just...you know with you and Glimmer and everything," Adora explained.

"Well I could care less if Glimmer knows we hang out. It's not like she has any say over it anyway," Catra pointed out.

"I guess," Adora said, sounding unconvinced.

"Just don't worry about it. That's what I do," Catra said cooly as she leaned back against the ground behind her.

Adora snorted. "I guess," she said as she tried to calm herself down. She did notice that she was not as nervous being around all the people when she was with Catra and wondered why that was.

"You…uh…you look _really_ nice," Catra said quickly and looked at the ground awkwardly.

Adora smiled. "Thanks," she said excitedly. "You look nice too."

Catra felt her face heat up. "Oh you're just returning a compliment. I look like a mess."

Adora looked at the girl again. She really did look like she had cleaned up a little. Her normally wild and untameable hair was brushed back behind her head and she smelled faintly of cologne.

"No really," Adora repeated. "I like your hair."

Catra smiled and found it hard to speak. "Well thanks," she said quietly, hoping that Adora couldn't hear her heart pounding. "So how's your night going?" Catra asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"You know what, it's been pretty good!" Adora said. "The band is really good!"

"Yeah for a bunch of nerds," Catra said with a snort. Adora frowned a little and Catra backtracked immediately. "But yeah I think it's a really respectable sport. Band. Gotta have real talent. Talented nerds one and all."

Adora smirked at Catra's obvious attempt to change what she had said. "Well you clearly aren't here for the band. What brings you to the game?"

"Oh well I usually come to these. They're pretty lame but Scorpia likes when I come and cheer her on so it's whatever." Catra left out the part about especially wanting to come tonight because of Adora.

"Oh Scorpia's on the football team then?" Adora asked.

"Yeah she really likes it. And she's good too! Already has a bunch of scholarship offers and such," Catra explained.

"Wow. I had no idea. You two are pretty close! Are you two, like...you know…" Adora left the question hanging.

Catra didn't understand at first, but then she saw the look in Adora's eyes and instantly understood the implication.

"Definitely not," Catra said as soon as she registered what Adora had meant. "No no no. Nope. We are just friends. Just very good friends," Catra insisted strongly.

Adora smiled to herself and nodded. "Alright, just asking."

"Yeah I mean we've been friends for a long time. That's just kind of our thing. We both like just being good friends." Catra made sure to drive home the point that she was very available.

Adora's phone buzzed and she took it out to see a message from Glimmer asking if she was alright. Adora smiled at how protective Glimmer was.

"Oooohhh you got a phone I see," Catra remarked casually.

"Yeah just the other day," Adora replied.

"Oh cool," Catra said. She had already managed to ask for Adora's number once, but she wasn't sure how to do it again without being awkward about it.

Adora wanted Catra's number also. But for some reason asking for it seemed harder than it had for Perfuma. It seemed more important.

The two just kind of sat there quietly for a second before Adora spoke up. "Well that was Glimmer. I should probably head back before she gets worried."

"Aw man," Catra said disappointedly. "What if we just ditch Glimmer and chill here?" She suggested hopefully.

Adora shook her head. "I couldn't do that. It's not that I don't wanna hang out it's just I can't really be with both of you at once."

"Yeah I guess so," Catra said slowly. "Well I'll see you again tonight, right? Maybe after the halftime show?"

Adora shot a grin at her new friend and nodded. "Yeah after the halftime show for sure," she agreed and stood up. "I'll meet you here."

"I'll be waiting," Catra said with a lopsided grin as Adora hurried off back to her seat. Catra sighed as she watched her go.

_How am I supposed to win her over if I can't get her away from Glimmer for a second?" _She wondered. "_Maybe I'll have to actually try and smooth things over with Glimmer."_ Catra frowned at the thought, but she knew that if she had to do it she would. She laid back, stared at the night sky, and shook her head slowly, wondering how she had fallen so head over heels, before pulling out her phone and Googling how to casually get a girl's number.

* * *

When Adora got back to her seat, Bow was there. He was all dressed up in his marching band uniform and he held his trumpet in one hand. When he saw Adora approach, he smiled widely and held out his arms for a hug. Adora gladly accepted the hug and then sat down next to her friends.

"Hey you guys did really good!" Adora told Bow.

"Thank you, thank you," Bow replied and did a small bow. "The halftime show is a lot better though," he assured.

Glimmer agreed and Adora smiled distractedly. She loved being here with her friends, but something about leaving Catra like that just felt wrong. She continued to fidget in her seat, nervously awaiting halftime so she could get another chance to sneak off.

Bow had also noticed that Catra was there, standing several rows above them, and wondered if it was because of Adora. He realized that she did look a little fancier than usual.

At one point, Catra noticed him looking and stared at him. Bow made sure Glimmer and Adora weren't looking and waved up to her quickly. Catra just smiled despite herself and waved back at the goofy boy.

Bow wasn't sure how her and Adora were supposed to get anywhere with Glimmer and Catra being at odds. But he figured that things would sort themselves out if they were meant to.

The three friends shared some nachos and watched the game passively while chatting. Before long the band director called for everyone to assemble down by the end of the field again and Bow saluted his buddies before running off with the rest of the band.

Adora and Glimmer continued to chat. The whole time, Adora's leg bounced up and down anxiously as she fretted about sneaking away again. It all felt like a secret she was keeping from her friends.

_"Which it is," _Adora reminded herself. But she also knew that letting Glimmer know would just make things worse. Plus her and Catra were just friends. And they didn't even hang out a lot. Adora grappled with this for what felt like the hundredth time as the football team left the field for halftime and the whistles blew, signaling the band.

Adora did enjoy the halftime show, despite being generally stressed out. They played old western music and at one point Glimmer pointed out Bow and they got to laugh at him as he bobbed around the field.

Catra could care less about the halftime show and had gotten bored forever ago. It was hard to look down and see Adora having fun with her friends while Catra stood alone. She felt herself getting angry at Glimmer again. She was easy to blame in this situation. If Glimmer wasn't still holding onto that dumb grudge then Catra could be down there with Adora right now.

Catra almost walked down and sat right next to them, mostly just to see the look on their faces, but she decided against it. She didn't want to risk messing up what her and Adora had. In the end, she just ate her popcorn and walked around a bit, shivering when a cold wind blew by.

She ended up just sitting in the spot where her and Adora were supposed to meet. She checked her phone and acknowledged the time. It sounded like the band was finishing up soon so Catra decided to just sit tight and wait. Her heart started pounding as she thought of how to approach getting Adora's number.

* * *

When the halftime show ended, the crowd cheered and the band marched off-field. Adora looked around her quickly and then nodded to herself.

"Hey, you hungry?" Adora asked and Glimmer turned around to face her.

"Not really, but I could use some water," she replied.

"Oh!" Adora said excitedly. "Well how about I go get us some water and snacks?"

Glimmer nodded. "Sounds good," Glimmer approved and stood up to go with her friend.

"Oh. Well," Adora said quickly, trying to halt Glimmer, "I was actually thinking just I could go. The crowds and everything are kinda getting to me. I think I need a breather," Adora said nervously.

Glimmer looked at Adora with a worried expression, but sat back down. "Okay," she agreed. "And hey if you need to go we can go right now. I'll call mom up."

"No that's fine," Adora insisted. "I'm good. Just a little tired."

"If you say so," Glimmer said warily. "But really if you need anything just ask."

"I will," Adora agreed and began walking up the steps towards where the concession stand was. She realized that if her cover was going to get snacks, then it was probably smart to actually come back with snacks.

She waded through the crowds of people and made her way, as quickly as she could, to the concession stand. Luckily, it looked like she had beaten the halftime rush and she quickly ordered a hot dog, some candy, and a water. She used the money that Angella had given her for spending and wished that she had a job so she could feel less dependent.

She shook the feeling off and grabbed all of the stuff, having to cradle some of it in her arms. As she started to walk off, eager to meet with Catra, she accidentally dropped her sleeve on top of the hot dog and got her jacket cuff covered in ketchup.

Adora growled angrily and the person at the register handed her some napkins sympathetically.

Adora took the napkins and thanked the worker before looking around for a trashcan. She quickly spotted one over by a small side gate that didn't have anyone around it and hurried over.

_"Just my luck," _Adora thought as she got to the trashcan and began awkwardly cleaning herself up with the napkins, still grasping the hot dog in her hand. She managed to get most of it up but realized she smelled like ketchup and grimaced. She threw away the ketchup-stained napkins and turned to leave when she felt something behind her hit her hand and she dropped her hot dog.

It landed on the grass topside down and Adora whimpered a little. She turned around, confused, to see what had happened and came face to face with Lonnie, who was boasting a snide grin.

Adora was startled at first and then exhaled slowly and frowned at the girl who was standing way too close to her, her chest puffed out authoritatively.

"Oops," Lonnie said with a cold laugh, staring right into Adora's eyes.

Adora gritted her teeth and began to walk off. _"She's not worth it," _Adora thought angrily as she started to storm away. Lonnie grabbed her by the shoulder roughly and Adora stopped.

"Get your hands off of me," Adora said in a threatening growl, not even turning around.

"Oooh scary," Lonnie said with a chuckle, tightening her grip on Adora. "What are you gonna do about it?"

Adora turned and grabbed Lonnie's arm by the wrist, forcing it off of her shoulder. Lonnie looked genuinely surprised that Adora had made a move and at her strength and the two stared at each other for a while, facing one another down. Adora suddenly wished she were closer to the stadium so that there would be people around.

Lonnie grinned, recovered from the sudden retaliation. "So you got some bite?" Lonnie jeered. "Not gonna lie, I thought you'd just keep taking it."

Adora remained silent, staring at Lonnie hatefully. She wanted to leave, but she wasn't sure if Lonnie would let her. She decided to just let Lonnie say what she needed to and then when she got bored she'd leave. Just in case, Adora looked over her shoulder quickly, wondering if she could get away if she walked fast enough.

Lonnie noticed her looking away and sneered. "What you aren't enjoying our time?" she asked mockingly. "You wanna go run to your dumbass friends to protect you?"

Adora grimaced at this and clenched her fists. Lonnie seemed to enjoy the reaction she had and smiled. "Oh no did I hit a nerve?" Lonnie said sarcastically, taking a step closer to Adora. "It's real cute that you care so much about your friends. I'm pretty busy this semester, but I bet I could make some time to hang out with them a little."

Lonnie paused to smile at Adora, relishing in the fact that the girl was getting more and more upset. "I would love to push around that Bow kid a little. He's always gotten on my nerves."

"Don't you dare go near them," Adora said quietly, seething with anger.

Lonnie chuckled and took yet another step closer to Adora, now right up in her face again and almost eye level with the girl. "There you go again. Threatening me."

Lonnie reached out and shoved Adora lightly. Just enough to push her back a few steps. Adora could barely hear herself think as blood pumped through her veins and anger seared in her mind. She readied her arm at her waist.

Lonnie pushed her again, harder this time, shoving Adora back into the chain link fence behind her. Adora clenched her teeth and desperately hoped that Lonnie gave up soon, her mind muddled with anger.

"What are you gonna do about it, new girl?" Lonnie asked as she pushed Adora up against the fence again. Adora clenched her fist tightly and prepared to swing upwards with her fist, her heart pounding, when suddenly a figure ran up and collided with Lonnie.

Lonnie was pushed back by the force and almost fell over. She cried out briefly and grasped her leg as she stumbled away from Adora. A mask of confusion and anger covered her face as both her and Adora looked to see a small girl pick herself up from the drop kick she had just aimed at Lonnie's legs.

Frosta brushed the grass and dirt off of her arms and stared down Lonnie despite being much smaller. Lonnie squinted at the girl, with no idea what was happening. Adora was too shocked to react and just stared at the small girl who nodded at Adora and held her fists up towards Lonnie.

Lonnie shook her head slowly and laughed as she took the sight in. "So you have a little guardian angel? Emphasis on little," Lonnie said with a snort and took a step towards Frosta, who braced herself.

Adora was moved to action at the possibility of Frosta getting hurt and stepped off from the fence. She closed the ground between her and Lonnie and shoved her palms against Lonnie as hard as she could. The girl fell backwards instantly from the strength of the push and lost her footing, falling to the ground and rolling a bit. Lonnie's eyes showed genuine surprise for a moment, not suspecting Adora to be so strong. Behind Adora, Frosta cheered.

Adora's eyes widened suddenly as she realized what she had done and she took a step backwards as she saw the intense fury on Lonnie's face. Lonnie scrambled to her feet and jumped at Adora, yelling loudly. Adora raised her arms to protect herself, but she was a second too late and she felt an intense pain erupt in her face as Lonnie's fist collided with her eye and upper cheek, sending Adora falling backwards.

"Adora!" Frosta yelped and ran to the girl as she stumbled back, managing to break her fall.

What happened next felt like a blur to Adora. She was on the ground, her mind reeling, desperately trying to rub the blood out of her eye as it leaked out of her brow. She could feel Frosta gripping her head. She was yelling something, but Adora couldn't tell what she was saying. She briefly acknowledged that a group of people had noticed the fight breaking out and were rushing over. She saw Lonnie above her breathing heavily, silhouetted by the stadium lights behind her. Adora blinked, trying to focus her vision, and when she opened her eyes again, Lonnie was no longer above her. Adora felt Frosta jump, but she kept her hold on Adora. Adora started to try and stand up shakily, against the will of Frosta who was trying to pull her back down. Adora looked over, kneeling and gripping her head, and suddenly realized where Lonnie had gone.

Catra was on top of her, throwing her fists down onto the girl and hitting wherever she could connect. Lonnie squirmed beneath the girl, trying to shield herself from the onslaught. Adora got up to her feet and managed to stay up. Frosta held onto her arm tightly and seemed to be anchoring her in place. Adora watched groggily as Lonnie managed to get out from under Catra and pushed the girl off. As Catra scrambled to get up, Lonnie kicked out at the girl and her shoe collided with Catra's face. Catra fell backwards, crumpling to the ground.

Adora yelled loudly, in a furious primal way that she didn't know she was capable of, though she couldn't hear her own voice. She ripped her arm from Frosta's grasp and stumbled towards Lonnie, who was lying on the ground, battered and bruised and also bleeding from her face. Adora had never felt so utterly enraged in her entire life. She walked towards Lonnie fully prepared to destroy her for hurting Catra, readying her fists that were covered in her own blood. Lonnie saw her approaching and saw the look in Adora's eyes and for the first time, Adora saw actual fear in Lonnie.

Before Adora made it to Lonnie, a man stepped in front of her and yelled so loud that Adora was snapped out of her trance-like state and she stopped lumbering towards Lonnie, who was staring up at the man in front of Adora.

"YOU WILL ALL STOP IMMEDIATELY!" Mr. Hordak bellowed as he looked around at the carnage of the fight.

Adora stopped dead in her tracks and wiped blood from her brow. She looked over at Catra who was sitting up slowly and cupping her nose. Catra noticed Adora staring and put her hand down, revealing two streams of blood pouring from her nose into her mouth. She spat a mouthful of blood onto the grass and then shot a lopsided grin at Adora, her blood-stained teeth glistening as she winked slowly and slumped back against a bench.

Adora sighed a breath of relief to see that Catra was alright. She was still furious, but it was dying down steadily. Mr. Hordak was knelt down next to Lonnie and was asking her questions. A group of paramedics, that were intended for the football players if they got injured, rushed in and hurried to Lonnie. Another went to Catra and the other walked towards Adora. Adora looked behind her for Frosta, but saw that the girl was nowhere to be seen.

Adora chuckled to herself. _"She really is like a little guardian angel," _she thought.

The paramedic greeted Adora and asked if she was alright, to which Adora nodded blankly. She then pressed a wet rag to the wound above Adora's eye and told her to keep pressure on the wound. Eventually the small crowd that had formed around the event dispersed as they went back to their football game.

It was around that time when Adora heard her name shouted out from behind her and she turned to see Bow and Glimmer rushing towards her. They both gasped when they saw the blood on her face and slowly registered what had happened.

Adora just shrugged with a half-hearted smile. Bow and Glimmer showered her in hugs and also in questions. Adora explained to them what had happened in almost full detail. She left out the part about Frosta, at least for the time being, and she didn't explain why Catra had interfered. By the end, Glimmer seemed almost more confused than before.

"You're saying Catra fought Lonnie off? You're sure?" Glimmer clarified, shooting a distrusting look over at where Catra now sat, talking to Mr. Hordak.

Adora instinctively wanted to tell Glimmer off for not being thankful to Catra. Without her, Adora had no idea what would've happened. Adora fought this urge though and reminded herself that Glimmer didn't know Catra like she did.

"Yeah she did. I'm not sure why, but she did." Adora felt bad for blatantly lying, but now was definitely not the time for her to come clean.

Glimmer shook her head. "That just doesn't make sense. Maybe she was just real mad at Lonnie and saw an opportunity? What do you think, Bow?"

"Hm?" Bow asked awkwardly, pulling at the collar of his band uniform nervously. "Catra? I don't know. Don't really know her that well. So. Who can say, really?" He laughed awkwardly and the two girls looked at him curiously before continuing to discuss what had happened.

Adora continued to sneak peeks over at Catra and Lonnie. The former looked to be doing better. She was constantly looking over to make sure Adora was alright. Adora desperately wanted to talk to her. And to thank her. But there were too many people in the way of that.

Lonnie, on the other hand, looked to be in a much worse state. She was still on the ground and had several people treating her wounds. She didn't appear unconscious or too terribly hurt, but Catra had definitely done some damage.

Glimmer called her mother and simply told her that they were ready to be picked up. "It'll be better to explain this in person," she said after hanging up.

"Agreed," Adora said with a tired groan and Bow put an arm on her shoulder.

"At least your makeup still looks really good," he said jokingly.

Adora smirked and then winced as the movement caused pain in her face.

"Uh oh," Glimmer said and Adora looked up at the girl only to see her looking out behind Adora with a worried look on her face. Adora turned around to see what was the matter and saw a very angry looking Mr. Hordak marching towards her. Adora frowned and turned to face the upset vice principal as he approached.

"You," he said pointing an accusatory finger at Adora, "are in a lot of trouble, young lady. And you should count yourself _extremely _lucky that this counts as a school event and not a public event, otherwise you could face serious legal repercussions. Even then, if one of these girl's parents press charges you could be facing a lot more than a slap on the wrist."

Adora gulped and looked at her feet. Glimmer frowned and stood up beside her friend. "Hey none of this is Adora's fault anyway! Lonnie attacked her!"

Mr. Hordak shook his head at the girl. "We can't know that until we've gotten testimonies from every party involved. Which will be done as soon as possible. Principal Hope will decide what punishment will be delivered. Given all three of you chose to fight at a family friendly school event, I'd recommend immediate expulsion." He looked over the group one last time before walking away.

Glimmer stuck her tongue out at Mr. Hordak as he left.

"He really shouldn't work with kids," Bow said thoughtfully. "Or any kind of living human being with feelings."

Glimmer put a reassuring hand on Adora's shoulder. "Hey don't let what he said get to you. They can't expel you for defending yourself. That's ridiculous! If anyone gets expelled it'll be Lonnie. Maybe even Catra for roughing her up so bad. But not you."

Glimmer's reassuring words had the opposite effect on Adora. The thought of Catra getting expelled for trying to protect her made Adora's skin crawl. She anxiously bit at her lip as she considered this possibility.

Angella arrived shortly and called Glimmer to let her know she was waiting out by the front of the stadium. Adora was not looking forward to explaining all of this and she already felt ashamed for getting into a fight so quickly after starting school here.

Adora got up and said goodbye to Bow. He gave her a caring look and a warm hug. "I'm sure _nobody_ will be expelled. The school almost never does that," he told her softly as they hugged.

This actually made Adora feel a little bit better and she wondered how Bow always knew just what to say. She thanked him and then her and Glimmer walked towards the side gate to leave the stadium. They passed by where Catra sat and she looked up at them as they passed, puffs of cloth in her nostrils to stem any bleeding.

Glimmer eyed her warily, but kept walking. Adora looked at her and mouthed a silent thank you. She wished there was more she could do. She really wished they could just talk. But this would have to do for now.

Catra shot that toothy grin of hers at Adora as she walked away, into the cool night.

Catra watched her go. She was furious that Lonnie had gone after Adora like this. And she was horrified that Adora had gotten hurt. And, to be honest, she was more than a little scared at how merciless she had been when fighting Lonnie off. It was like she was an animal whose only purpose was to protect Adora.

But the feeling that prevailed over all of these was one of hope and desire. She had kept Adora safe. And though she couldn't be with her now when she desperately wanted to hold her in her arms and tell her everything was alright, she figured that one day, she just might have that chance.

And Catra decided that day was far worth the wait.

_**This was one of my favorite chapters to write! Took a lot of time just cuz school is getting crazy and a lots been going on so if there are any typos or this seems more rushed or something that's why. But this story is still a real nice relaxation for me. Even when I write my girls beating each other up. I'm excited for the fallout of this. Some fun dynamics to play with. Thanks to everyone for reading and supporting. Love you guys! **_


	14. Chapter 14

Adora took a deep breath and steadied herself. She felt like throwing up. She gripped the door handle until her knuckles were white and she leaned forward in her seat, trying to prepare herself to get out of the car and walk inside of the school building.

It was early Monday morning. School wouldn't start for another hour. Principal Hope, after hearing about the events that transpired at the football game last Friday night, asked that the students arrive early Monday morning and with their legal guardians present, if at all possible.

Now Adora sat in Angella's car, trying not to freak out as they prepared to go in. Angella saw Adora struggling and delicately placed a hand on Adora's arm. Adora eased at the touch a little and looked at her foster mother. She was looking at Adora encouragingly and smiled warmly.

"Adora," she said smoothly. "We talked about this. It's gonna be okay. You didn't do anything except defend yourself."

Adora bit at her lip in concern. "I guess," she responded quietly and looked out the window.

Her biggest fear was that without many witnesses, all three of the girls would be expelled. Adora couldn't let that happen. She couldn't be kicked out of school. Not after Angella had done so much to get her settled in here. Not after things in her life were just starting to look up.

This town was her new chance. Her new beginning. And all Adora could think was that she had messed that all up.

Angella had told her over and over that it wasn't her fault and that she wasn't mad at her in the slightest, but Adora figured that Angella had every right to be upset. Angella had kindly invited a new member into her home and into her family and then she got into a big fight in her first few weeks of school. Adora felt very guilty and the feeling gnawed away at her stomach slowly.

Angella and Glimmer had tried to reassure her all weekend. It hadn't helped much, although Adora had tried to pretend that it did. And even if she was spared a hefty punishment, Adora still had Catra to worry about.

The threat of school, memories of the fight, and Catra had been the only things she could focus on during the last couple of days. She knew that Catra didn't care for Lonnie and she knew that her and Catra were becoming friends very quickly, but why had she stuck her neck out like that for her? Why had she risked all this trouble? Risked getting hurt? And at the end of it all, despite everything that had happened, she had smiled.

Adora had replayed the image of that blood-stained smile in her head at least a hundred times. Thinking back to the look in Catra's eyes, the stadium lights reflecting in her pupils.

Adora shivered as she recalled the memory. She didn't know what she would do if Catra got kicked out of school just for coming to her aid, so she tried to push it out of her mind.

Only two things were looking up for Adora at the moment. For one, Adora didn't have to get stitches. Angella had rushed her to the hospital after she saw Adora's face wound Friday night. Adora had protested this decision but she had no say in the matter. The doctor examined the wound and decided that it wasn't serious enough to warrant any stitches.

The other positive was that Frosta had slipped away from the scene before she could be linked to the fight. As far as Adora knew, nobody had known Frosta was ever there except her and Lonnie, and Lonnie probably didn't even know her name. Hopefully, Frosta could stay clear of everything. Adora thought back to the girl's valiant intervention. She had been so fearless.

Adora envied her. If Adora had been anywhere near as brave as her a lot of this wouldn't have happened. Specifically during the pivotal moment when she had fought back and shoved Lonnie to the ground. If she had simply run away, with Frosta in tow, instead of freezing up, she could have avoided all of this. But she had just stood there, stunned at her actions. It was just another reason that everything had been her fault.

Adora sighed and felt another wave of anxiety wash over her. She realized she had been biting her lip too hard and tasted blood in her mouth. She continued to look out at the imposing school building.

Angella watched the girl, concernedly. She felt incredibly sorry for her. Her first few weeks at school had been so hectic. And it had all culminated last Friday. Angella wished she had been there to intervene. She wished that Adora could open up to her and tell her how she really felt about it all. More than anything, though, she wished that Adora would realize that she wasn't to blame.

"Adora I promise you it will be alright. I know Mrs. Hope and she is a very understanding woman. And I'll be here for you if you need me." Angella placed her hand on Adora's head and slowly stroked her hair.

Adora took these words to heart and made a genuine effort to calm down. After a few deep breaths, she clenched her fists and swallowed her fear. "Thank you," she said appreciatively. "I think I'm ready."

"Alright," Angella replied. "Let's go win us an argument."

Adora managed a smile and the two exited the car and walked towards the school. The shock of the cold air helped to calm Adora down and she continued to focus on staying calm as she walked beside Angella. The pair entered through the front doors and made their way to the main office.

Angella gave Adora's hand a quick squeeze as they entered and Adora realized how thankful she was that she didn't have to do this alone.

As they walked into the office doors, the secretary greeted them at the front desk. He ushered them over to a room down the office hall and to the left. Angella and Adora entered the room and several pairs of eyes turned to face them.

Adora instantly recognized Catra and Lonnie. Lonnie scowled at the sight of Adora and then tried to hide the resulting wince of pain. Her face was scraped in several places and her left eye was puffy and darkened. Adora regarded her blankly, not even bothering to return the scowl.

Instead, Adora looked to Catra. The girl seemed to be examining Adora's face. She frowned slightly as she saw the large bandage covering Adora's brow and a smaller strip covering her cheek. Adora wanted to tell her that she was alright, but didn't feel like this would be the right time.

To Adora's great relief, Catra looked practically unscathed. Her nose looked like it had healed up already and she only had two small pieces of medical tape on the ridge of her nose.

Behind Catra, stood a tall, lean man with dark hair, a tan complexion, and warm hazel eyes that were very familiar to Adora. She instantly realized that this must be Catra's father, considering that he looked so much like her. The man smiled and greeted Angella and Adora as they walked into the room.

Angella courteously returned the wave and her and Adora headed for two empty seats in the middle of the, now cramped, office.

Sitting behind a large oak desk facing everyone was Principal Hope. Adora had seen her a few times before, but had never talked to her. She was very tall with sharp features and a tightly-shaved head. She wore a black suit with a simple tie. A tired, but firm, expression rested on her face and she nodded to the pair as they entered and took their seats.

"Good morning," Mrs. Hope said politely. "You are both right on time. Now I know you two are very busy," she said, gesturing to Catra's father and Angella, "so I will try to make this as quick as possible."

Adora squirmed in her seat, feeling very uncomfortable. It also felt strange to be sitting so close to Lonnie, the girl she had just been fighting a few nights ago. Adora wondered briefly where Lonnie's parents were.

Mrs. Hope continued calmly. "Now I believe we all know why we're here. Last Friday night there was a physical altercation by the stadium. You three girls were all at the scene and looked to be involved given your injuries. Mr. Hordak said that he was informed of the event by a student and quickly rushed over to see Catra and Lonnie struggling. As he approached, he also noticed Adora walking towards the pair, bearing a clear face wound."

At the description of the event, Catra's father sighed and Angella frowned deeply. The three girls remained silent.

"I would like to point out that our student's safety is our utmost concern and I am terribly sorry that this was allowed to take place at a school event. In light of this we are now considering stricter security at games to ensure this doesn't happen again." Mrs. Hope explained this with a sincere look of apology to both parents, who nodded.

Angella still hadn't forgiven the school for letting this happen, but she didn't want to make a scene here. She decided she would send a very passive aggressive letter in the near future.

Mrs. Hope scanned the room, her eyes resting on each of the girls. Each one averted their gaze as she focused on them. "Now before we discuss any punishment, I would like to hear from you three what happened from your point of view. Mr. Hordak only witnessed some of the fight and he has a way of…embellishing these things. Please describe what happened in full detail."

Adora sat there nervously, not wanting to speak up. She shot a quick glance at Lonnie, and the girl appeared to be ignoring the request. She did, however, hear Catra scoff from beside her.

"Yeah I'll tell you what happened," Catra spat out angrily. "Lonnie started the whole thing. She's been messing with Adora since she started coming here." Catra shot a nasty look at Lonnie, who simply shook her head and remained silent, staring off distantly.

Catra's father put a hand on his daughter's shoulder to calm her down and Mrs. Hope turned to Catra. "I would prefer that we keep this conversation as civil as possible."

Catra scowled but didn't argue. Mrs. Hope turned to address Lonnie. "Now Lonnie, Catra is making some serious accusations here. Can you confirm or deny these claims?"

Lonnie continued to stare off blankly and Mrs. Hope cleared her throat. "I would like to point out to you all that refusing to provide me with a clear picture of the event will not help your case. If it is unclear then you will all have to be punished to the fullest extent regardless of the roles you played."

Lonnie remained silent and Mrs. Hope shifted her attention to Adora. "Do you have any light to shed on this situation, Adora?"

Adora frowned and felt Angella squeeze her shoulder protectively. "Um," she uttered quietly. "Well I guess I was by the concession stand. And then, well, Lonnie was there. And she was being very aggressive. And she shoved me and…" Adora paused for a bit before continuing. "And I shoved her back and then she hit me…"

Adora was briefly interrupted by Catra as she audibly growled upon hearing this. Adora noticed that the girl was visibly distressed by the recounting of events.

Lonnie had looked up briefly upon noticing that Adora had left out the part about Frosta interfering, but said nothing.

Adora continued slowly. "And then…I was on the ground and Catra was there. And she fought Lonnie off of me and gave me time to get up. And then I saw them fighting and that's when Mr. Hordak broke it up."

Mrs. Hope nodded in affirmation. "Alright. Does that sound accurate to the two of you?"

"Yeah that sounds exactly right," Catra said quickly. "Adora was just defending herself. That's why I helped." Catra's father seemed relieved that, at least for the time being, it appeared that his daughter had not started the fight.

"That's not how it happened," Lonnie spoke up suddenly and everyone in the room turned to look at the girl.

"I was messing with Adora a little bit, sure. Just some teasing. But she took it too far. She hit me first. Then I hit her back in self defense. Next thing I know…Catra's there. And well…" Lonnie trailed off.

Adora shook her head at the false account and Catra snorted. "Yeah that's a huge lie," Catra said pointing a finger at Lonnie. "That's what she does! She couldn't tell the truth to save her life!"

"Catra," her father said softly and Catra calmed down a little.

Mrs. Hope stared at Catra sternly. "I believe we already discussed that we will maintain civility while we are discussing this. You are allowed to disagree, but you are not allowed to hurl insults at your classmates."

"Fine," Catra said begrudgingly.

Adora had been watching Lonnie when Catra had yelled at her, and for a moment she actually seemed shaken up. Her blank expression turning softer, more vulnerable, before she went back to staring at the corner of the room dejectedly.

Adora found it hard to feel sorry for the girl after what she had done, but it was strange to see a flash of an emotion other than anger in Lonnie.

"Now we can't be sure of the exact truth," Mrs. Hope continued. "But I expect that you are all telling me versions of the same series of events." She stared at the students thoughtfully before looking up to their guardians. "Angella, Gerald," she said respectfully. "Would you mind stepping into the room next door with me to discuss what we should do about this situation?"

Both adults agreed and Mrs. Hope stood up slowly. "If you two could kindly take a seat next door. I'd like to have one last word with the girls, if you don't mind."

Angella patted Adora on the shoulder and then walked out. Catra's father tousled his daughter's already messy hair and followed after Angella, closing the door behind him. The three girls now sat in the quiet room with Mrs. Hope. She remained standing, looming over the three of them.

"I have an idea," Mrs. Hope said slowly. "Since we don't all have the same view on how things happened last night, I think it would do you all some good to get your story straight. I am going to go discuss with your parents the consequences that you girls are facing. You have until I come back into this room to come up with a singular, unified account of what took place. And I will expect an apology from each of you to each other. If you cannot do this, I am afraid that I will have to leave some of the more serious punishments on the table."

Mrs. Hope walked past the silent students and over to the door. "Please make this easier on yourselves," she said over her shoulder as she exited the room and shut the door behind her.

There was a very awkward moment of silence as the girls looked each other over. Catra was the first to speak, and she was not happy.

"Well the way I see it," she said slowly, turning her chair to face Lonnie, "the only option is for you to admit that you started the whole thing."

Lonnie scoffed, pulling her gaze away from the corner and locking eyes with Catra. "Yeah sounds great. I'll just tell her it was all my fault and then you two get off scot-free and I get kicked outta school."

"Yeah and you deserve to be kicked out of school!" Catra yelled, prompting Adora to shush her so that they didn't hear her next door. Catra continued in a quieter tone, but with just as much fury. "What the hell is wrong with you anyway? Picking fights for no reason? What did Adora ever do to you? Why do you do stuff like this?"

Adora was alarmed by Catra's hostility. She could practically feel the anger coming off of her in waves. She wanted to calm her down, but didn't know how. Instead she just looked to Lonnie to see her reaction.

Lonnie chuckled mirthfully. "Does it matter? At this point I don't even care. And to be honest, I'd rather we all get kicked out than just me. So I think I'm done with this whole exercise."

Catra gritted her teeth and stood up out of her chair, angrily. Adora put a hand out in front of Catra and blocked her path to Lonnie. Catra stopped immediately, but stared Lonnie down hatefully.

"Look," Adora said with a tired sigh, "I get not wanting to work together on this. Trust me, after Friday I never wanted to have to see you again. But here we are."

Lonnie remained silent and looked away from Adora. Adora heard Catra groan beside her and continued trying to get through to Lonnie.

"I actually would like to know why you couldn't just leave me alone. I really would. But I don't even think we have time right now. And if you actually have a reason I don't think you'd tell me anyway." Adora ran a hand through her hair nervously. She wasn't entirely sure where she was going with this, but she desperately needed them to get out of this situation.

Catra leaned back on Mrs. Hope's desk and watched Lonnie, a hard look on her face. She remained quiet and let Adora speak.

"Whatever you did it for, it's too late to change it. But Lonnie," Adora spoke firmly, "I am not about to get kicked out of school for what you did. You can keep tripping me in the hallways and calling me names and all that childish stuff you love to do. I don't care. But I can't lose this. I won't lose this. And especially not because you're too stubborn to tell the truth." Adora let her words hang in the tense room for a bit. She was breathing heavily at this point.

Catra realized at that point how much this school meant to Adora. Catra reminded herself that Adora had just moved here. She felt terrible for Adora. She could see the stress had taken its toll on her. She had dark bags under her eyes and looked very tired. Catra wanted to comfort her. She also wanted to beat Lonnie to a pulp for doing this to her. If she had known that Lonnie had still been messing with Adora during school this fight would have happened a lot earlier. She turned her attention to Lonnie and saw that she was still staring off and ignoring them.

Catra was about to lash out at her again when Adora spoke again, her voice softer this time.

"Please," she asked quietly.

"No way," Catra said quickly. "No you shouldn't have to be asking her to come through for you. This is all her fault in the first place. Look what she did to you," Catra gestured at Adora's brow and Adora put a hand to it absentmindedly.

"I'm alright," Adora told the girl. "It's healing okay."

"No nothing about it is okay!" Catra exclaimed, her voice breaking a little. She looked away and put a hand to her face.

Adora stood up out of her chair and walked over to Catra, forgetting about Lonnie and the fight and all of it for the first time since it had all happened. She leaned next to Catra on the desk and put a hand on her shoulder.

Catra looked up, pulling her face out of her hand and staring into Adora's eyes. Adora looked at her calmly and smiled lightly. "Thanks. For everything."

Catra felt her breath leave her as she stared at Adora. She managed to nod in response, unable to think of anything to say. She just knew that she was glad she had helped Adora. She would do it again a hundred times over.

Adora slowly leaned over and wrapped her arms around Catra, bringing her into a tight hug. Catra was stunned for a moment, but then quickly hugged Adora back. The only thing that Catra was capable of thinking was that it felt so incredibly good.

Adora was in a similar state. She hadn't known she had needed this until she had done it. It felt like all the stress she had was just flowing away and all that mattered was this. She wanted it to last a lot longer, but eventually she pulled away.

Lonnie quietly glanced over at the two girls and saw them staring at each other. She gasped lightly as she realized she hadn't seen Catra that happy in a while. It made sense now. Why Catra had come to Adora's aid. Why Catra had confronted her about picking on people. There was something between these two. Something deeper than just a normal friendship. Something Lonnie hadn't caught onto before, but was definitely seeing now.

She looked away, grappling with a strange amalgamation of her own emotions.

It was at this time that the door opened and Mrs. Hope walked in, Angella and Gerald in tow. Adora and Catra quickly sat back down, shooting glances at one another as the adults returned to their places.

Adora tried to read Angella's face, but couldn't glean much from it. Mrs. Hope settled down and spoke up.

"So have you three decided what happened?" She asked expectantly.

Catra looked to Adora and bit her lip. "Uh, well, we…" Catra trailed off.

Adora opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Lonnie. "Yeah it's like they said," Lonnie said quietly and the other two girls looked over, trying to hide their surprise. "But I mean I'm still not sure who threw the first punch. It all happened real fast."

Adora saw where Lonnie was going with this and extended her support. "Yeah I mean...it could have been either of us. It was dark and we were mad." Adora felt a twinge of anger that Lonnie was still slightly twisting the truth, but at least she had made the surprising change of heart to work with them to avoid trouble.

Mrs. Hope looked satisfied and leaned back slightly in her chair. "Alright. And do you have anything to say to one another. And to your parents while you're at it?"

Of the three, Adora was the first to speak up. "I'm sorry Catra and…Catra's dad. And I'm sorry Angella for all this. And…" Adora stalled a little bit. She found it harder than she had thought to apologize to Lonnie. She eventually managed to avoid thinking about the implications of the apology and continued. "...and I'm sorry Lonnie."

Catra let out a small sigh and shook her head. "Yeah whatever. I'm sorry too I guess. To all of you," Catra said bluntly and her father looked embarrassed.

"Same. Sorry," Lonnie said quickly.

Mrs. Hope nodded acceptingly. "Well some of those were a bit unconvincing, but I think we've made some ground here. Alright girls. Your parents and I have talked. The school has to take certain steps to ensure that you are punished for the violence towards your classmates, however, due to your cooperation I believe we can dial it back a bit."

The room seemed to let out a collective sigh and Adora felt a weekend's worth of tension flow out of her.

"You will each be suspended for 2 days. When you return you will each begin regular meetings with the school's guidance counselor during your free period. Also you will not be allowed to attend any football games for the next month. Does that sound fair?"

Angella looked down at Adora first, recognizing her relief at the result, and then nodded her affirmation. There were no objections.

"Alright! Then we are in agreement. Keep in mind that if something like this happens again you will all receive much harsher discipline. Your temporary suspension starts immediately. You may return on Wednesday. Your schoolwork will be sent home for you. Any questions?" Mrs. Hope surveyed the room and was met with no questions. "Then we should be done here. Thank you all for coming in on such short notice."

Angella and Catra's father, Gerald, stayed behind to talk to Mrs. Hope while the three girls left the room. Lonnie walked off quickly without saying a word, exiting the office and leaving the building.

Catra and Adora sat on the seats out in the main office. They watched Lonnie leave.

"Good riddance," Catra said as she left.

"It is good not to be stuck in a room with her anymore," Adora acknowledged. "That was weird though. What she did. I mean…I don't know her that well but I didn't think she'd actually listen to me."

Catra shrugged. "Meh. She was just trying to save herself. I mean she's the one who did all this and she just walked away with the same punishment as us! How is that fair?"

"That's a good point," Adora agreed. "Were you guys ever actually friends?"

"Oh boy," Catra said, thinking back. "Yeah we were. Good friends too. But she changed. I mean I did too, I guess. I was a jerk for a while after middle school but I rounded out more or less. Lonnie never did though. She just got more and more…hateful." Catra explained, a distant look on her face.

"Huh," Adora said thoughtfully. "It's hard to imagine you two as friends. But I guess if she was different back then."

"Yeah she was," Catra said reflectively before shaking her head and changing the subject. "You excited for our mini vacation?"

"Mini…you mean our suspension?" Adora asked incredulously.

Catra rolled her eyes. "Same thing really. They just try to scare you with the big word, but really you just get some time off. Pretty sweet deal," Catra said with a toothy grin.

Adora chuckled. "Well I wouldn't call it that, but I guess it could be nice to have some time off. I guess."

"There it is," Catra said, satisfied. She turned and picked up a college pamphlet that was lying on an end table and began leafing through it distractedly. "You know," she said slowly, "that whole counseling thing sounds really interesting."

"Yeah who's our counselor?" Adora asked curiously.

"I couldn't tell ya," Catra said with a shrug, taking a marker out of her pocket and drawing on the pamphlet she was reading. "But I know I'll hate it, regardless."

"It can't be that bad," Adora said with a wave of her hand. "They'll just try and weed out our violent tendencies or whatever."

Catra scoffed. "Yeah we'll see," she said sarcastically and then grew quiet. "But hey that whole mess Friday. I mean that was…have you ever been in a fight before?"

Adora shook her head instantly. She had gotten in plenty of arguments, but never anything physical.

"Yeah me neither. At least not like that," Catra explained and then frowned a little. "It's…I dunno I keep thinking about it. Like just how…mad I was. I couldn't even stop myself from hitting her. And I…I mean you saw her face." Catra opened her mouth to continue, but shut it again, unable to form more words.

Adora looked at the girl, concerned. "I get what you mean. I felt it too there at the end. If Mr. Hordak hadn't interfered…" Adora trailed off before pushing the thought out of her head. "But you did what you had to. And I'm glad you did."

"I know. I'd do it again," Catra replied quickly and Adora felt her stomach flip. "But it's just hard to forget all the...hitting I guess."

"Yeah," Adora said knowingly. "You know maybe the counseling will help a little."

Catra smirked. "Yeah we'll see. It'll take up my free period so it better help."

The girls were interrupted by their respective guardians coming down the hall. Gerald was laughing at something Angella had said and Angella was smiling widely.

"Well it was nice meeting you, Angella. I hope I get the chance to see you again sometime. I'm sure I will if our daughters continue tag teaming at football games." Gerald said with a graceful laugh as they reached the office entrance and noticed Catra and Adora, now standing and ready to leave.

Angella laughed at his joke. "And it was a pleasure meeting you, Gerald. I look forward to it." She replied with a kind smile and brushed some of her hair out of her face nervously.

Catra and Adora looked at each other, confused by what they were seeing. Adora elbowed Catra and looked at the girl questioningly. "Do they seem…" she began under her breath before Catra cut her off.

"Nope. Ew. I don't wanna think about that. They're old." Catra whispered back hastily and Adora stifled a laugh.

"Let me get the door for you." Angella quickly moved over and held the door open for Gerald.

"Well thank you very much," he said with a chuckle before turning to his daughter. "Catra are you ready?"

Catra looked at Adora and then to her father. "Uh yeah I guess," she said awkwardly and shot a grimace to Adora who smiled widely.

Catra walked out with her dad and Angella and Adora followed suit. Angella and Gerald continued to converse with one another warmly as they walked out the doors and out to the parking lot. Catra and Adora walked together.

"You know," Catra said slowly, her breath making puffs of vapor in the cold morning air, "I don't really think I'm all that interested in this college." Catra held up the pamphlet she had picked up inside. "Seems a little too wordy for my taste. But uh…you should check it out sometime," Catra said and handed the pamphlet to Adora.

"Uh…yeah I guess I could," Adora said, eyeing the girl strangely and cautiously accepting the pamphlet.

Catra started to say something and then thought better of it and shook her head. "Yep. Well. I will see you soon! Have a good vacation!" Catra said quickly and hurried off, following her dad as he said goodbye to Angella and walked towards his car.

Adora stared after Catra and chuckled to herself. _"What a strange girl." _

* * *

Angella had the heat blasting in the car as her and Adora drove back to the house. Angella had spent almost the whole time complaining about how Adora was being punished for something she had very little part in. Adora agreed, but she was honestly so relieved at the punishment that she didn't really mind.

"That Lonnie girl seemed very uncooperative," Angella said with a shake of her head. "I can't believe she did all this to you and got away with the same punishment as you and Catra."

"Yeah. It's not really fair, but I guess they have no way of knowing if we're telling the truth about how it started." Adora said thoughtfully.

"I guess so," Angella said annoyed. "Oh and just to clear things up, I thought that Catra was still causing you trouble as well. Is that still happening or did you two make up or…"

"Well," Adora said, twisting her fingers together nervously. "We found some common ground."

"You must have!" Angella exclaimed. "Not many people would just jump in and selflessly protect someone like that. Maybe she's turning a new leaf. The way Glimmer talks about her made me think she was still a little troublemaker."

Adora laughed. "Well she is definitely that, but she's…nice it turns out."

Angella nodded encouragingly. "Well I'm glad you're making friends, Adora. How does Glimmer feel about being around Catra again?"

"See I don't really…hang out with them around one another," Adora carefully explained, shifting in her seat.

"Ah," Angella said. "That makes sense. Glimmer hasn't said one good thing about Catra in a long time."

"Yeah I know," Adora said guiltily.

"But," Angella stated, "you are free to make friends with whomever you please. Glimmer can't control that. You will have to tell her at some point though."

Adora nodded. "I know. And I don't like not telling her. I just don't want her to be upset with me."

Angella stopped at a red light and took the chance to look over and focus on her foster-child. "Adora, you are such an incredibly considerate and selfless person. And that's a fantastic quality to have. But sometimes you have to worry about yourself for a change. Glimmer's a big girl. She can handle it. Now sure, one time she didn't talk to me for three days straight because I wouldn't let her go to a concert, but she gets over it eventually."

Adora smiled at the story. "Okay," Adora said decidedly. "Thanks Angella. I'll let her know sometime."

"Take your time," Angella said. "I won't narc."

Adora snorted and then turned to Angella. "Oh and hey," she said slowly, a grin spreading across her face, "was it just me, or were you and Catra's dad…"

Angella's pale face turned a bright scarlet color and she stammered a bit. "Well he was a very nice man and he…well…" She let out a small sigh. "Yes maybe a _little_," Angella replied guiltily.

Adora laughed loudly and Angella couldn't help but laugh along with her, despite her embarrassment.

* * *

When Adora got to the house she headed upstairs and woke Glimmer up for school. She explained what had happened and Glimmer was very excited for Adora that she hadn't gotten into too much trouble. The sleepy girl then shuffled downstairs and her and Angella got ready to leave for the day.

Adora went back to her room and fell asleep again, finally able to rest easy. By the time she finally woke up it was close to three in the afternoon. She marveled at how long she had slept and got up slowly, feeling strange sitting at home on a Monday.

She spent some time cleaning up her room. As she was cleaning her nightstand, she recognized the pamphlet that Catra had given her that morning and smiled wryly at the thought of the girl.

Adora picked it up casually and leafed through it. It was just a normal brochure for a local college. Adora was about to toss it out when she noticed something written in marker at the bottom of one of the pages.

Adora quickly opened the page up and examined the writing. Under the, 'Contact Information' heading for the college contacts, there was a hastily scribbled phone number written in black marker. Under the number was a similar looking message that said 'This feels stupid but I've already committed to it.'

Adora put her face in her palm, grinning widely. She put the number into her phone under the name 'C' so that Glimmer wouldn't be able to figure out who it was if she borrowed Adora's phone. Adora laid back on her bed and laughed to herself quietly as she shot a message over to the new contact.

'That was the most roundabout way of giving me your number that you could have possibly thought of' Adora typed out and pushed send.

It had barely been ten seconds when she got a response.

'Well it sure took ya long enough.'

_**Things are looking up for the girls. And for me! I'm on winter break now so I can just unwind and I'll be writing some more. As usual I'm always open to reviews and I absolutely love getting them. Thanks to everyone for reading and I'm glad you're enjoying it so far! I hope you all have a great day!**_


	15. Chapter 15

Adora spent a lot of time now wondering how she had ever existed without a phone.

She had spent almost the entire rest of her Monday shooting messages over to Catra. They had originally just made light conversation as they chatted about the fight and their suspension. Then before Adora knew it, it was Monday night and they were still carrying on a conversation.

Angella had been excited that Adora was enjoying the phone so much. Glimmer had asked Adora what she was doing on her phone so much and Adora had quickly whipped up a lie, claiming she was keeping a digital journal. Glimmer bought the excuse and thought it sounded like a cool past time.

Adora made sure not to text Catra when she was around Glimmer anymore. She definitely was going to tell Glimmer about the whole Catra thing, but she wanted to do it when it was a good time.

Catra seemed to be constantly available to talk. Sometimes, Adora would go dead for an hour before responding, but Catra would reply within mere minutes of Adora sending a message.

Now it was Tuesday morning and Adora was, despite still feeling ashamed for getting in trouble, enjoying her 'day off.' She had been watching a lot of YouTube videos on her phone all morning and hadn't left her room except to go to the bathroom and to get cereal.

Glimmer and Angella had left for school and work before she had woken up, and the large house felt extremely empty without them in it. Adora didn't mind the time alone, though.

She took a big bite of cereal, spilling some milk on herself and pushed play on another video. She sighed contentedly and decided that she could get used to this. It was around this time that her phone buzzed and Adora smiled, instantly knowing that it was Catra.

She pulled up the message and read it quickly. 'Are u awake?' it said simply and Adora laughed to herself.

'Yeah I'm discovering YouTube. Good stuff' Adora typed out. She put in a smiley face and then deleted it, deciding against it. She read her message over again and decided it sounded alright before she hit send.

Adora stayed on the messaging screen, staring at the messages and waiting for Catra to respond. She didn't have to wait long for a new message to pop up.

It read: 'You are soooo late to that party. But I'm glad ur enjoying it! Hey so I was thinking. It's our vacation. You don't get suspended everyday. We should take advantage of this!'

Adora cocked her head to one side, wondering what the girl was talking about.

'WDYM?' she replied.

There was a minute of nothing and then Catra responded. 'What in the world does that mean?'

Adora scoffed and texted back quickly. 'It's slang for what do you mean. I looked it up.'

'I'm gonna pretend u didn't do that. Anyway. How open would you be to leaving the house?' Catra's response read.

Adora was surprised at the question and thought about it for a bit. She didn't know if Angella would be fine with her leaving or not. But then again, her foster mother hadn't told her _not _to leave the house. Plus she had already finished all of her homework for yesterday and today.

'I'm listening' she texted back, excitedly.

This time, she received a response within a few seconds. 'Good. Get ready. 10 minutes till vacation kicks off for real.'

Adora was confused by the cryptic message. How was she supposed to get to Catra? What were they actually doing? Adora almost asked, but decided to leave it up to Catra and just lean into the randomness of it all.

She then realized the jerk had only given her ten minutes to get ready. She scrambled out of bed and rooted through her closet, cursing herself for having so many t-shirts that didn't fit her. She eventually found a shirt that fit and changed quickly, only now realizing the milk she had spilled on herself.

She groaned and threw her dirty shirt in a bin in the corner. She changed into the shirt and some athletic leggings and then ran into Glimmer's room to use her full-body mirror. She looked herself over and decided it would do for the time she was given. She rushed to the bathroom and quickly brushed her teeth and put on deodorant and tied her hair back.

She was about to leave the bathroom when she spotted a bottle of perfume in one of the drawers. She eyed the perfume indecisively.

_"Is this a perfume event or a non-perfume event?" _Adora questioned. She had no idea, but figured that smelling extra good couldn't hurt. She snatched up the bottle quickly and, in her haste, accidentally tipped the bottle, spilling perfume all over her arms.

Adora gasped loudly and stood there stunned for a bit, before grumbling under her breath and quickly cleaning up the mess. She washed her arms off, but soon noticed to her dismay that as hard as she scrubbed, she couldn't get the intense flower smell off of her skin.

"What is this stuff!" Adora yelled in frustration, scrubbing at her arm furiously and cursing Catra for rushing her.

She was still trying to get the smell out when she heard the doorbell ring.

"For the love of…" Adora growled as she gave up on the perfume debacle and sped back to her room. She grabbed her wallet and her house key and crammed them into her pockets. She hastily grabbed her favorite hoodie and shrugged it on, hoping it would cover up her overwhelming aroma.

The doorbell rang again and Adora sighed. "I'm coming!" She yelled loudly and looked around the room, making sure she had everything.

"Alright," she said to herself. "Good to go. Wish me luck, Shakira!" She waved goodbye to the poster of Shakira smiling down at her and hurried out of her room and down the stairs, throwing on her sneakers quickly.

She flung open the door and saw Catra going to press the doorbell again. "Do not! Ring! The doorbell again!" She exclaimed, exasperated, and Catra retracted her hand.

She was wearing a tight, black, leather jacket and black skinny jeans with dark red converse. A pair of shades rested on her hair, which she had attempted to control again, brushing it back mostly behind her head. She looked good and Adora could tell that she clearly had much more time to prepare.

"Well nice to see you too," Catra said jokingly, stepping back from the doorbell with her hands raised in surrender.

Adora noticed Catra looking her over and felt a gnawing anxiousness, wondering if she looked bad. Adora was quickly relieved as Catra smiled warmly at her.

She started to speak, but then Adora saw the girl crinkle her nose and sniff at the air a little and Adora immediately knew why.

"Did you put on some kind of perfume?" She asked, raising her eyebrows questioningly.

Adora thought about denying it, but soon realized that it was too late. She exhaled slowly. "I may have had a small problem with the whole…application part of the perfume."

Catra's face slowly morphed into a wide, toothy smile, and then she began to laugh violently.

"I…hey it's not my fault!" Adora exclaimed in protest as Catra continued to laugh. "The cap was faulty and you gave me like no time!"

"You…" Catra managed to choke out in between her fits of laughter, "You smell like an arboretum!"

Adora scoffed at the remark and this just made Catra laugh harder. Adora couldn't help but smile as she watched the girl fall apart on her front porch. It was good to see her happy. And she had a rich, throaty laugh that Adora had learned she loved the sound of.

Catra finally wheezed to a halt and managed to get her wits about her.

"Are you done?" Adora asked with a mocking smile.

Catra sighed deeply. "For now. But, like, wow. I don't know if I'll be able to sit in the car with you! Maybe if I roll down the windows." Catra said snarkily.

"Oh it's not that bad," Adora said, not entirely believing her own statement. "Did you say car?"

"Ta-da!" Catra said and gestured to a large minivan behind her, parked crookedly in the driveway.

"Is that your car?" Adora asked.

"Nah it's my dad's. But he's on a work trip 'til Thursday so for now…it's mine," Catra said with a satisfied look and put her hands on her hips.

Adora chuckled. "Well congratulations. Where are we going?"

"I have some ideas," Catra responded cryptically before strutting off towards the car.

Adora quickly locked the front door behind her and followed Catra to the car, hopping into the passenger seat. "This is a big car," she realized, looking back at all the seating.

"Yeah my dad got it so he could bus his soccer team around," Catra explained and turned the car on.

"Your dad has a soccer team?" Adora questioned.

"Oh he coaches a local youth team. He's like a cliche soccer dad. It's pretty embarrassing." Catra complained.

"I think it sounds sweet," Adora replied. "Maybe that's why Angella likes him so much," Adora said, elbowing Catra with a sly grin.

"Aw man you said you'd stop with that!" Catra whined. "That's so gross. I don't wanna think of my dad having normal human emotions."

Adora laughed. "Well I think they'd be a cute pair," she said matter-of-factly.

Catra grumbled something to herself and quickly pulled out of the driveway. Adora was jolted as Catra hit the brakes suddenly, but not before knocking over a trash can on the neighbor's curb.

"Oops," Catra said nonchalantly, eyeing the trash she had spilled over their lawn and beginning to drive away.

"You're just gonna leave that?" Adora asked, bewildered.

"I mean sure," Catra said as she pulled away. She looked over and grinned at Adora's expression. "Look I don't wanna go picking up someone else's trash on my day off. Besides you that is," Catra leered.

Adora gasped and Catra chuckled maniacally. "Where are we even going?" Adora asked, frowning back at the mess they had made as they drove away.

"Patience is a virtue, Adora," Catra said mysteriously and turned out of their neighborhood onto the main road that wound through a lot of Etheria.

Adora scowled, but honestly she enjoyed the element of surprise. This day had quickly become a lot more than she had anticipated. She watched Catra drive, the sun gleaming off of her shades. A resting, eager smile lingered on her lips.

Adora also noticed that Catra wasn't using her turn signals at all. "Do you drive a lot?" Adora asked innocently.

"Oh you know," she said casually, "when I get the chance. I don't have, like, my own car yet so I just steal dad's."

Adora nodded to herself. "Cool. Yeah me and my foster mom have been talking about starting me driving. It'd be nice to learn. When did you get your license?"

"Uuuhhhmm," Catra said slowly, scratching her chin. "You know…it's less about having the actual _license_ and more about having the skills required."

Adora stared at the girl blankly. "Catra you do have your license, right?"

Catra inhaled slowly, struggling to figure out how to respond. "I do have…a license," she eventually said unconvincingly.

"Is it a learner's permit?" Adora asked bluntly.

"Yes it is," Catra admitted quickly.

"Oh man," Adora said, rubbing her brow. "You are illegal right now. And on top of that you're probably gonna crash and kill us both."

"Woah, woah, woah," Catra said in an attempt to ease Adora. "I really do have skills! Just not…you know…officially licensed skills."

"You did a hit and run on a trash can the second we pulled out!" Adora exclaimed.

"Well alright I blame the neighbors for that. That trash can was waaay too far out," Catra said, shaking her head.

"What if you get pulled over?" Adora asked nervously.

"Pshh," Catra responded carelessly. "Lesson one of riding with Catra is that Catra don't get pulled over."

Adora rolled her eyes, smiling regardless. "Well we'll see I guess. What's lesson two?"

Catra adjusted her shades. "Catra don't mess around with no trash cans," she said in a gruff voice.

Adora snorted and ensured for the tenth time that her seat belt was fastened. "Alright, I'm gonna trust you, but only if lesson three is to actually use your turn signal."

"My what?" Catra responded. Adora's eyes went wide and she stared slack-jawed at her driver. Catra looked over and saw her face and laughed to herself. "I'm just screwin' with you," she said, flashing her sharp canines in a content grin.

"You're the worst," Adora groaned.

"Oh I know," Catra joyfully agreed, and pulled off of the main road, turning down a side street that Adora had never been down before.

"Are you gonna take me off into the woods and murder me?" Adora asked facetiously.

"Eh. We'll see what happens," Catra said mischievously.

Adora sat back in her seat and wondered about where they were going. She also thought about how crazy it was that this was even happening. She was currently suspended. For getting in a fight. And now she was out with Catra, the girl she had been trying to utterly avoid several weeks ago.

Adora also wasn't sure where her and Catra stood. Were they friends? Did Catra want to be more than that? Did Adora want that to happen?

The entire situation was filled with strong emotions and a lot of unknowns, two things that always managed to stress Adora out. So far, she had been putting these questions on a back burner. She figured that things would play out how they would and she wouldn't have to fret about it too much.

But now things were different. They were becoming more real. Adora felt more strongly. These questions were starting to become inevitable. And after talking to Bow, and doing some Googling of her own, Adora was pretty sure that Catra was up to something.

But then again, Adora hadn't known Catra for all that long. Maybe this was just how she treated her friends. After all, Scorpia and her were very close.

But there was something about her. The way she reacted when Adora would get close. Her stares that Adora would sometimes notice.

And then there was the fight on Friday. Catra had been so angry. So protective.

Adora bit her lip painfully and decided that these questions could wait at least a little longer. If she worried about it now she'd have a hard time enjoying whatever they were going to do.

_"I'll talk to Bow sometime," _Adora promised herself and pushed the thoughts from her head. She realized she was getting a slight headache and figured that it was probably the perfume wafting off of her. She smelled like a Sephora.

Adora cracked the window and Catra looked over. "Thank you," Catra said graciously. "I wasn't gonna say anything, but I was suffocating over here."

"Oh you drama queen," Adora rolled her eyes. "It's not that bad."

Adora paused and slowly brought her arm up to her nose. "Okay it's pretty bad," she admitted.

Catra chuckled. "Oh hey, we're coming up on stop one of Adora's day off! Close your eyes!" Catra said excitedly, wiggling in her seat.

"Stop one?" Adora asked as she slowly covered her eyes with her hands.

Catra didn't reply to her query and Adora felt the car make a rough turn. They drove a bit more before the car lurched to a halt and Catra turned off the car.

"Okay, you ready?" Catra asked, her voice full of anticipation.

"Yeah I'm ready," Adora said excitedly, hands still cupped over her eyes.

"Open!" Catra exclaimed and Adora removed her hands.

She instantly took in the surroundings outside of the car. They were parked outside of a big building in a strip mall. The sign was lit up with purple neon lights that read: 'Etheria Roller Rink'.

Adora's face slowly morphed into a wide grin. "Wow. We're roller skating?" Adora asked with a small laugh.

"That we are," she replied proudly, enjoying the look of excitement on Adora's face. Catra mentally high-fived herself for coming up with this idea. It had only taken a whole night of sleepless contemplation about what Adora would like.

_"Worth it," _Catra thought as Adora looked at her thankfully.

"And I have some pull around here so we can totally get in for free," Catra boasted and slid her shades up onto her head.

* * *

"I can't let you in for free again," the young man at the front desk said regrettably, looking down at the two girls in front of him.

"Aww c'mon Clancy," Catra whined. "What's stopping you?"

Adora looked between the two, staying silent and wondering how they knew each other. The guy working the front desk, Clancy, rubbed his forehead and sighed.

"Oh I don't know, Catra. Maybe the rules? And my boss?" He responded, exasperated.

Catra scoffed and leaned forward against the counter. "Yeah we both know Liz won't find out. Plus, screw the rules! We used to let all our friends in for free!"

Clancy considered this for a moment, his brow furrowing in thought.

"Just this once?" Catra asked, making puppy dog eyes at the man. "For old time's sake?"

Clancy frowned defeatedly and slowly nodded. "Okay fine. There's like nobody here anyway. But if I get in trouble for this…"

"I know, I know," Catra said dismissively. "You'll be fine ya big baby."

Clancy smiled wryly and waved the pair past him into the rink. Adora followed closely behind Catra, looking around at all of the flashing lights. The place was huge. Techno music was playing loudly over the speakers and it was all dark except for flashing neon lights that were placed around the ceiling and walls.

Adora had been roller skating once when she was really young. She had been invited to a birthday party and had spent the whole time falling down. Despite the countless bruises she had gotten that day, she had enjoyed herself. She just hoped that her skating had improved over time.

She followed Catra as they made their way towards the place where you get your skates. "Hey how'd you know that guy anyway?" Adora asked Catra, raising her voice so that she could be heard over the music.

Catra looked back at her. "Oh I worked here last summer. It sucked, but as far as jobs go, I guess it was alright. And Clancy still lets me in whenever I want."

"It sounded like this was the last time though," Adora pointed out.

Catra laughed. "He says it's the last time everytime."

The pair made it to the shoe rack and grabbed their sizes out of the cubbies. The girls sat next to one another on a bench and began putting on the skates.

"So…you're probably pretty good at the whole skating thing if you worked here," Adora reasoned.

"Well I don't mean to brag, but I won the annual employee skate-off by a longshot so I'm kind of a legend," Catra said unabashedly as she tied her skates on.

"Wow," Adora said, surprised. "Well I have significantly less practice with this so we'll see how it goes."

Catra looked over at Adora reassuringly. "Well I'll make sure you don't wipe out too hard," she said with a smirk.

"I hope so," Adora said under her breath as she finished getting her skates on and looked down at her feet.

Catra stood up and reached a hand down to Adora. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Adora answered and grabbed Catra's outstretched arm, lifting herself up off of the bench. They were on a carpeted area currently and the traction was good enough so that they weren't sliding yet. Adora still struggled a little as she stood up and tried to get used to the unfamiliar weight attached to her feet.

Catra chuckled as she watched Adora clomp around haphazardly. _"This was definitely a good idea," _Catra reaffirmed to herself.

Adora heard Catra's laugh and shot a look at the girl. "Hey this is gonna have to be a judgment-free zone," she said, wobbling around a little trying to find her balance.

Catra held her arms up innocently. "No judgment here. Just enjoying your little dance."

Adora's face reddened a bit and Catra scooted over next to her. "Okay, okay. I promise that I will not judge you for your ability to roller skate. We'll start slow," she promised and guided Adora out to one of the entryways to the rink.

It was mid-morning on a Tuesday so there was nobody in the entire place except for a few older people. Adora was relieved at this, and felt better that there were less people to see her hobble around.

Adora stopped at the spot where the carpet ended and the rink began and Catra stood beside her.

"See it's kinda like walking," Catra said trying to explain it to Adora. "Except it's like totally different."

"Well that helps. You're a great teacher," Adora droned sarcastically, eyeing the rink in front of her.

"You really just gotta try it," Catra urged the girl. "Do you, uh…I mean you could hold onto my hand if you wanted." Catra tried to say it as nonchalantly as possible, attempting to hide the fact that she had replayed this about a million times in her head the night before.

"Let me try it on my own first," Adora said, building her confidence and slowly starting to step off of the carpet.

As her right foot hit the rink, it slid out a little and Adora caught herself quickly. She steadied herself and put her other foot onto the rink. She grasped the barrier that surrounded the rink and and stood completely still.

"I'm doing it," Adora said in a strained voice, trying not to move and sweating slightly.

Catra laughed. "Yeah you're a regular pro! Skating is one of those things that gets easier when you just kick off and go for it. Like riding a bike!"

"I suck at riding bikes," Adora said nervously as she clutched the side wall.

"Well then nevermind that," Catra muttered. "Just try and kick off."

Adora nodded and steadied her legs, cursing herself for her lack of balance. Then, she pushed off from the wall and rolled out further onto the rink. She laughed in exhilaration as she felt herself glide forward. Catra clapped and cheered beside her. Adora grinned widely as she drifted. Her ancient muscle memory told her to step forward to propel herself ahead.

Her muscle memory was wrong.

Adora stepped out and instantly was thrown off balance. Her right leg flew out from under her and she toppled over backwards. She came down hard, landing on her rear, and sat there stunned for a minute.

Catra was upon her a split second after it happened. She rolled over and knelt down next to Adora. "Are you okay?" She asked, looking her over concernedly.

"Yeah I'm fine," Adora replied, rubbing her lower back. "But I'm starting to think I haven't improved since the last time I did this."

Catra looked down at the girl as she rolled her skates around on the ground helplessly. She offered her hand once again to Adora. Adora looked up and saw Catra, arm outstretched, looking at her in a curious way. The reflection of neon lights danced in her wild eyes.

Adora exhaled softly at the sight of the girl and temporarily lost her fear of falling down again. She quickly grasped Catra's hand and pulled herself up. She immediately began to fall again, but this time in her fear, she latched out and grabbed onto Catra's arm. She steadied herself, using Catra as an anchor.

Catra's heart began to beat quickly and she hoped that Adora couldn't feel the goosebumps that Adora had given her when she had grabbed her. She savored the feeling of Adora being wrapped around her arm, clutching it tightly. For a moment, Catra pondered how nice it would be if Adora was holding on to her because she wanted to and not out of fear of toppling over.

Catra shook herself out of her daze and realized Adora was steady, but was watching her feet closely and struggling to stay upright. "Adora," she said softly, and Adora turned to look at her. "Just follow my lead."

Adora nodded slowly, but maintained her death grip on Catra's arm. Catra began to slowly push forward with her skates. It was harder propelling the weight of two people, but Catra managed to slowly make her way forward, Adora hanging on to her and sliding along with her.

Catra slowly began to pick up speed and got to a steady pace. She looked out of the corner of her eye and saw the white flash of Adora's smile. She seemed to be enjoying the skating now that she was moving and had something to hold onto. She loosened her grip on Catra's arm slightly as she began to ease into the movement.

Catra stayed at a constant pace for a while as they slowly made their way around the oval-shaped rink.

"Is it okay that I've stolen your arm?" Adora asked as Catra pushed the pair of them forward.

"It's all yours," Catra said with a smile as they completed a lap of the rink. Catra continued to drift along with Adora in tow. "You wanna pick up the pace a little?"

Adora bit her lip nervously. She squeezed Catra's arm a little tighter before nodding in affirmation. Catra could hear her heart pounding in her ears as Adora held onto her and she began to pump her legs rhythmically. Adora threw off her balance a bit, but she was able to quickly speed up and soon they were moving quickly around the rink. Adora was just coasting at this point, her wheels flat on the ground beneath her, following Catra's path.

Catra heard the sweet sound of Adora's bubbling laughter as they increased speed and turned a corner. Catra wondered how much of this cuteness she could take and they did a few more laps at this quickened speed.

"This is fun!" Adora exclaimed as they glided around and around.

"I definitely agree," Catra said with a grin. "Did you wanna try skating on your own again?"

Adora thought about it for a bit. "I guess I could try," she said unconvincingly.

"Hey I got no problem if you wanna keep doing this," Catra answered honestly.

"I wanna learn how though. That way I can get real good and we can have skate-offs."

"Ha! Or you could get real good and we could join a roller derby team. You have the muscle for it," Catra remarked and began to slow down their pace.

Adora smiled to herself at the thought of them on a roller derby team. And she liked when Catra complimented her strength.

"Okay you can unhook whenever you feel ready," Catra told her.

Adora focused on trying to match her steps with Catra's. She waited until they were on a straight stretch and cautiously let go of Catra's arm. Catra stayed close, turning around and skating backwards as she watched Adora drift along.

"How. Are. You. Skating. Backwards?" Adora asked through gritted teeth as she tried to focus on her movements.

Catra just laughed and did a small twirl, showing off her skating finesse. Adora just tried not to fall and break her face. She slowly began rolling her feet forward rhythmically like Catra had done. She watched in surprise as she began to push herself forward.

"I'm skating!" Adora yelled in success.

"Yeah you're doing really good," Catra said looking her over. Adora's confidence soared and as she approached the curve in the rink, she began angling her feet and slowly turning.

"Hey look at…" Adora started to say, before she began to slip and fall backwards. Catra slid in the moment she noticed and grabbed Adora by the back before she could topple over.

"Woah!" Adora said, breathing heavily. "Thanks."

"Just call me your skate angel," Catra said with a grin. "And if you ever need the arm again, it's here waiting for you."

Adora looked at Catra thankfully and began to get in her rhythm again. By the time they reached the next curve, Adora was able to swing around it with no problem.

"Hey you're getting the hang of it!" Catra said, impressed. "You mind if I free skate for a little? I miss the rush."

Adora chuckled. "Go ahead. But if you abandon me and I fall, I'm gonna be mad!"

"I'll keep an eye on you," Catra said slowly. Adora saw a familiar look in Catra's eyes. That almost predatory stare. It was similar to when they had first met and Catra had toyed around with her, except it was different now. It was more protective. And more gentle. Adora felt a tingle jolt through her body and she was surprised at the sudden feeling.

Adora watched as Catra swirled around and began to skate away. She was able to gain speed much quicker on her own, and soon she was practically flying around the rink. Her hair blew back behind her and she gritted her teeth as she raced around the turns. Adora found it hard to focus on her own skating when she was watching Catra, but it was hard to look away.

Adora decided that while Catra wasn't the most inclined when it came to weightlifting or strength, she had a lot of balance and grace. She glided past Adora, shooting her a sly grin. Adora watched as she did a small loop and spun around quickly. She began to weave around and do rapid turns and all manner of skate tricks that Adora hadn't even known were possible.

Adora was just coasting at this point and watching Catra move, her legs pumping and propelling her around the rink. Adora sighed as she watched the girl and her mind filled up with thoughts she had been trying to keep under control.

* * *

"Well I'm gonna be bruised and sore for a while, but it was worth it," Adora said as she settled back into Catra's dad's car. The girls had skated for another hour or so and Adora had started to get the hang of it. Catra had helped a lot and had saved her from falling several times.

"Definitely worth it to see you floundering around," Catra cackled.

"Hey I got better!" Adora whined and playfully hit Catra.

"Yeah, honestly, you did pretty good there at the end. My little skater girl grew up so fast." Catra wiped a fake tear from her eye.

"Well I'll take that as a compliment," Adora said as Catra began to pull out of the parking space. "So you said there was more than one stop on this 'vacation?'"

"Heck yeah," Catra said proudly. "Stop two isn't too far from here. You hungry?"

"Very," Adora said, having worked up quite an appetite from all that skating.

"Do you have any allergies?" Catra wondered aloud, realizing she had never asked.

"Nope. Immune to all food. And bees," Adora added this last part snidely and Catra grimaced.

"Oh man I forgot I told you that."

Adora smiled proudly. "I know your greatest weakness," she said arrogantly.

"Well I wouldn't say it's my greatest weakness, but it's certainly embarrassing," Catra grumbled.

"Well I think it's cute," Adora said.

Catra raised her eyebrows. "Well that's a new take on it. And I don't mind it at all."

The pair continued to talk as Catra drove. Before long, Catra slowed down and made a turn, using her turn signal now. Adora cocked her head as they turned down an unmarked dirt road that led off into what looked like corn fields.

"You know," Adora said slowly, looking around at the fields surrounding them, "this is the part where you'd kill me and dump my body."

"Well shoot, you figured it out I guess," Catra joked. "I hope you understand. I just couldn't have you showing me up like that in weights all the time. I got a reputation."

Adora scoffed. "I don't know what's more unbelievable. That you'd actually kill me or that you have a reputation."

"Oh dang," Catra said reverently. "That was a good one."

"But really though, I thought you said we were going somewhere to eat?" Adora questioned.

"Did I say that?" Catra asked playfully. "Oh hey close your eyes again."

Adora smiled and put her hands over her face. "Yeah this is getting more serial killer-y by the second."

Catra pulled over to the side of the road. "Okay keep your eyes closed," she advised and Adora heard her hop out of the car. She heard the trunk open and close before Catra ran over and opened Adora's door.

"Can I help you down?" Catra asked politely.

Adora grinned goofily. "Okay but don't let me hit something," she said as she stepped out of the car, eyes shut tight.

It was a pretty warm day and the sun felt good on Adora's skin. Her hair tossed around in the light breeze and she felt Catra gingerly loop her arm around her own.

Catra took a moment to take in the sight of Adora before leading them both down the road a bit and then off of the road through a patch of grass.

"Where in the world…" Adora muttered as they continued to walk.

Catra laughed. "Yeah okay I get that this seems a little weird from your point of view, er, I guess your lack of point of view."

"You're so funny," Adora said sarcastically and Catra chuckled.

They walked up a slight incline and Catra made sure that Adora didn't trip on anything. Finally they got to the top of a small hill and Catra led Adora to a flat part on the top. Catra surveyed the view and smiled.

"You can open now," she said softly.

Adora opened her eyes and muttered a quiet 'wow.' Her and Catra were on a grassy hill covered in fall leaves from the big tree that stood behind them and shielded them from the sun. Looking out from the top of the hill, Adora saw an endless expanse of sunflowers. There must have been thousands, all beaming a bright yellow. They stretched off into the horizon and seemed to grow wildly here.

It was beautiful. Adora looked over to Catra, who was staring at her and smiling. "Not too shabby for some flowers, huh?" Catra asked.

Adora shook her head. "It's beautiful," she said in awe.

_"So are you," _Catra thought instantly. She almost said it, but managed not to let it slip. She couldn't make a solid move until she was definite that it would work out.

Catra just agreed and looked out at the massive field. She put down the basket she was carrying and began to unwrap a blanket.

Adora noticed what she was doing and smiled widely. "A picnic? We're having a genuine picnic out here?"

"Yeah is that alright?" Catra asked.

"That sounds amazing," Adora said joyfully. "Let me help you with that blanket you're getting it all tangled."

They set up the blanket together and laid back on it, facing the field. "You know, maybe now that we're in an actual field of flowers, your overwhelming floral scent will seem more natural," Catra said with a childish giggle.

"Oh shush," Adora said hastily.

Catra began to rummage around in the basket she had brought and pulled out a bunch of bags of sandwiches, throwing them onto the blanket. "Okay I didn't know what you liked so I made ham and turkey and bologna and then some are on white bread and some on wheat. Oh and I cut all the crusts off cuz I figured nobody likes those."

"Wh…when did you have time to make all this?" Adora asked in awe.

"This morning," Catra answered nonchalantly.

"So...if I had said I couldn't hang out today…"

"Yeah I would've had to eat a loooot of sandwiches on my own. But luckily you're here," Catra said with a grin.

"Luckily I am," she replied, picking up a bag of sandwiches labeled 'turkey' and pulling one out. "Hey thanks for doing all this," Adora said sincerely. "Like this day has been so nice."

"Well I figured we deserved it after last Friday and all. Your face is looking good by the way!" Catra said as she took a bite of her sandwich.

Adora raised an eyebrow and Catra coughed, almost losing her sandwich in the process. "Like your face scar!" She clarified quickly. "Your cut. It's…it's healing nicely. It looks good. Healthy, I mean."

Adora's face scrunched up into a facetious smile and she began to laugh as she choked her food down. Catra just shook her head slowly at the girl.

They spent several more hours at the top of the hill. They stared out at the field a lot, but more often they stared at one another as they chatted and ate. The day flew and by the time Adora remembered to look at her phone she realized how much time they had spent up here.

"Oh man I gotta get home," Adora said looking at the time.

"Well you could…_or _we could go to my place and hang out. My dad's out of town so we'd have the whole place," Catra said excitedly.

"That sounds fun," Adora said slowly. "But I gotta get back before Glimmer does. Otherwise, she'll wonder where I've been."

Catra deflated visibly at this answer. "Well what if you just told her you were out with a friend?" Catra cringed a little at her own use of the word friend, not wanting to friend-zone herself, but Adora didn't seem to notice.

"She'd wanna know who it was," Adora said dismissively.

"Well just tell her it was me," Catra said plainly.

Adora looked up at the girl to ensure that she was being serious, and saw that Catra had definitely meant it. Adora sighed. "It's not that easy. I mean I can't just be like, 'oh hey by the way I spent all day with literally the one person you told me to avoid.'"

"Why not!?" Catra questioned. "Why should we have to change what we do because Glimmer is too stubborn to change?"

Adora frowned slightly. "She's not…I don't know. I just don't want her to be mad."

"Well you're gonna have to tell her eventually," Catra said bluntly. "We can't just sneak around forever. Man I can't believe it's been years and Glimmer is still managing to mess things up for me."

"She's not messing things up. It's my fault. I just haven't been able to tell her." Catra could hear the guilt in Adora's voice and realized it had been on her mind for a while now.

"Well don't blame yourself," Catra insisted and scooted closer to Adora on the blanket. "Look you can tell her when you're ready. It doesn't have to be today. And I'll even help if you want me to."

Adora nodded to herself and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Yeah that sounds good. I'll find a good time to let her know."

"And hey maybe she'll be super chill about it," Catra considered, lying back and propping herself up on her elbows.

"Maybe," Adora replied hopefully. "I do hate to go though."

"Well this just means we'll have to hang out again sometime soon to make up for it," Catra said as she picked a blade of grass apart meticulously.

"You know, that sounds really nice," Adora agreed, and the pair looked out at the field of sunflowers for a while longer before they slowly packed up their things and drove off together.

_**It's getting reeaaaall now! Things are happening slowly but surely. This was a super fun chapter to write. Adora slowly realizing she's falling for Catra. While also falling during skating. Classic. I love where it's going. We got some new characters coming up. I think one in the next chapter and then several I'm very excited about in the near future! But none of it will distract too much from this adorable Catradora content so don't worry. Thanks for reading and saying such nice things! Love the support and I hope you all have a great day!**_


	16. Chapter 16

It was Wednesday morning during free period when Adora, Catra, and Lonnie were called to the office over the intercom.

Adora instantly knew that it was for their mandatory counseling session and she got up from the lunch table begrudgingly. From the seat beside her, Glimmer watched her get up.

"Hey good luck!" Glimmer said supportively.

"Thanks, Glimmer," Adora said distractedly.

Glimmer handed Adora her beanie that she had left on the table. "You'll tell me and Bow how it went at lunch right?"

"Yeah I'll let you know all the progress we've made on my violent tendencies," Adora said sarcastically.

Glimmer chuckled and waved goodbye to Adora as she waved back and walked off towards the main office. She wasn't feeling particularly worried about the counseling.

Catra and her had talked about it when they were hanging out the other day and Catra had assured her that it wouldn't be too bad. Adora definitely agreed. She figured the worst of it all was behind her.

She did, however, notice more stares as she walked along the halls. According to Glimmer, the fight between the three girls on Friday night had been the gossip of the whole school. And now, Adora could feel people eyeing her suspiciously.

She'd see people talking to each other and instantly wondered if it was about her. She didn't like the attention. She also didn't like that she was now known as the new kid who got in a fight the second they got to the school.

Regardless, there was little she could do about this. The only thing she could do now is forget it happened and move on. That's what Catra had told her at least.

She walked into the office and the friendly man at the desk greeted her and motioned her towards the waiting area, where she saw Catra waiting in a chair. She was biting at her fingertips absentmindedly and her head was buried in her phone.

As Adora walked over, Catra looked up and smiled at Adora, patting the chair next to her. Adora plopped down in the seat.

"How're you doing?" Catra asked as she settled in.

"Pretty good. But it's weird that everyone else knows about the fight and stuff. I feel like they're judging me."

Catra scoffed. "Nah. If anything, those suckers are scared of you."

Adora frowned. "Well I don't like the thought of that either."

"What? No that's super cool! Nobody will ever mess with you again!" Catra exclaimed.

Adora smiled helplessly at the girl. "We have very different mindsets."

"Granted," Catra admitted with a half nod.

Catra and Adora were then interrupted by somebody approaching. They both looked to see a hobbled over old woman with a cane and wiry glasses with huge lenses. Her hair was pure silver and she made her way slowly over to the pair of them.

"Ah, good morning girls. It is nice to see you," she crooned in what sounded like some kind of thick accent that neither of the girls could quite place. "My name is Madame Razz. And you are?"

She extended a hand as invitation and Catra grabbed it and shook it gently. "Catra," she told the woman.

Adora greeted the woman with a smile. "Adora. Nice to meet you," she said as she shook her hand.

"Well I'm glad you are both here. And where is the other? Lonnie?" She asked as she looked around the office for the missing girl.

Catra and Adora looked at each other in question and realized they didn't know. "Probably skipped," Catra said plainly.

Madame Razz sighed. "Well I hope she comes by sometime. I would like to speak to you each individually today. Who wants to go first?"

"You should get it over with," Catra said to Adora as she elbowed her lightly.

"Alright," Adora agreed tenuously and rose from her seat.

"Right this way," the old counselor said as she turned and walked back down the hallway, Adora following behind her. As they walked, they passed Mrs. Hope's office. Mrs. Hope looked up from some paperwork and locked eyes with Adora as she walked by. The tired looking principal smiled firmly and nodded. Adora waved back quickly and kept walking.

At the end of the hallway was a small room that Madame Razz ushered her into. There was a small desk with a very old computer in the corner, but the main feature was two old armchairs that sat facing each other with a small end table in between.

Madame Razz closed the door behind them. "Take a seat, Catra," she said as she walked over to one of the armchairs and settled in.

"Uh. I'm Adora actually," Adora stated timidly and sat down opposite the woman.

"See I knew that, I was just testing you," Madame Razz said with a hearty laugh.

Adora smiled awkwardly and looked around the office.

"Now, Mrs. Hope told me that you girls got into one heck of a scuffle the other night," Madame Razz said as she took off her huge glasses to clean them.

"Yeah we did," Adora said remorsefully. "And I promise it won't happen again Mrs. Razz."

"Madame Razz," she replied with a chuckle and gazed at Adora warmly. "And honestly, I believe you. You seem like a good girl. And a nice person."

"Thank you," Adora said curtly, taken aback at the complements. She had expected more of a disciplinary lecture.

Madame Razz nodded slowly and placed her glasses back on her face, blinking quickly as her eyes adjusted. "So why did you do it?" She asked out of the blue.

"Uh…well," Adora sighed. "She…Lonnie that is, looked like she was going to hurt someone and I wanted to protect them."

Madame Razz nodded. "And Lonnie. What do you think of her? And be honest, I won't tell on you if you say you loathe the girl."

Adora thought on this for a moment. "Well honestly, I don't like her at all. She's been mean to me since I moved here. And I never did anything to give her a reason to."

"Interesting," Madame Razz replied thoughtfully. "Well then why do you think she does these things?"

"I have no idea," Adora answered. "Catra says she's just been mean for a long time."

"And why do you think that is?"

"Some people are just…mean I guess," Adora responded, not sure of the point that Madame Razz was trying to make.

"Are they really?" Madame Razz mused. "That's news to me."

Adora didn't know what to say so she just waited for Madame Razz to continue.

"Can I tell you a story, Adora?" The old woman asked respectfully.

Adora nodded and Madame Razz adjusted herself in her armchair and looked out the window. "I grew up in a town that was much rougher around the edges than Etheria is. It wasn't terrible, just more...difficult than here. I had a friend when I was your age. We were very close. And she was also bullied. Very viciously, at that. She gritted her teeth and bore it for quite some time. But one day when we were walking together after school…she snapped. Her bully had followed us as we walked and he was pestering her and nagging at her as he usually did. I'm not sure what he said or what finally tipped her over the edge, but she was on him in a second. At some point she knocked him over and when he fell he hit his head on a fire hydrant. He started to convulse and then went still and all we could do was look on in horror. We called for help and before long he was shipped off to the hospital. We thought that he was dead. That we had watched a boy die. And my friend thought she had done it…" Madame Razz paused to take a sip of tea from a mug on the desk beside her before continuing.

"We soon got word, however, that he was in stable condition. My friend's parents forced her to go to the hospital and apologize and I went with her. When we got there, we realized that there was nobody there with him. There were no flowers on his bedside table. No cards. His parents hadn't brought him any toys or books. It was just us. He wasn't much in the mood for talking. But we did notice when we were in there that he had many cuts and bruises. Not from the fight. But from something else. Who knows what else. My friend was horribly shaken up by the whole event. It changed her forever. Not necessarily in a good way or a bad way, but definitely in some way."

Madame Razz came to a stop and rubbed her brow gently. "I don't think there are mean people, Adora. I think there are people who have been hurt and who make bad choices. And I am not saying that it is our job to fix these people. But I think that understanding them is an important step in figuring out how people work."

A calm silence fell over the room. Adora tried to process all of what Madame Razz had told her. "So…are you saying I should forgive Lonnie?" Adora asked, confused.

Madame Razz shook her head. "I am not saying you should do anything. You should do what you think is right. I am just an old woman telling you some things that I have picked up over time." She chuckled lightly.

Adora nodded, deep in thought. She wasn't sure what was _right._ She definitely didn't want to forgive Lonnie. She didn't think she could.

_"But,"_ Adora pondered, "_I never did really try to understand why Lonnie did what she did._"

Adora frowned. "Thank you for your advice, but what's the point in understanding someone's point of view if it won't change anything? She'll still hate me and I'll still avoid her."

Madame Razz shrugged. "I'm not sure, dearie. I can't pretend to know how it will turn out. But the option is yours."

"Okay," Adora replied thoughtfully as she considered her counselor's words.

For the next ten minutes or so, Madame Razz continued to talk to Adora about the event that had occurred and how she should go about avoiding conflict in the future. Adora tried to keep an open mind as best she could. Madame Razz seemed very smart and she gave good advice.

After a while, Madame Razz looked at a watch that rested on her arm and sighed deeply. "Now we're out of time. These sessions go much too fast. But I very much look forward to seeing you tomorrow. It was very nice to meet you, Adora," she said with a creased grin.

"It was nice to meet you too," Adora said as she stood up to leave.

"Will you send your friend in here for me?" Madame Razz asked.

Adora nodded and waved goodbye before leaving the room and walking back down the hall. Catra was slouching back in the waiting room chair and immediately sat up when Adora walked in.

"Hey!" She said excitedly. "How'd it go?"

"It was…weird. But she's really nice and she gives off, like…old sage vibes," Adora said reverently.

"Huh," Catra responded. "Well we'll see about that." Catra stood up and began to walk back. "I'll see you in English?"

"Yeah I'll save you a seat," Adora said with a smile and the two girls parted ways.

Adora still had a little bit of time before class so she immediately made her way to Frosta's locker. She went to where her locker was, but she soon realized Frosta wasn't there. She didn't see her nearby and figured she was using her free period to study or something.

She began to walk off to the cafeteria again when she heard her name called from behind her. She turned around to see Perfuma hurrying up to meet her, the hems of her long, floral-printed shawl brushing the ground behind her.

Adora smiled at the sight of her friend. "Good morning, Perf…woah," Adora was interrupted by Perfuma lightly grabbing her face and looking it over intently.

Adora smirked at the strange encounter as the girl spotted the cut on her cheek and frowned deeply. "Well this is one heck of a greeting," Adora said, amused.

"Sorry," Perfuma said apologetically as she removed her hand from Adora's face. "I just wanted to make sure you weren't hurt too bad. Are you feeling any better?" The girl asked concernedly.

Adora felt good knowing that her friend cared so much about her wellbeing. They had texted a bit last weekend and Perfuma had made sure that she was alright. She had also offered a bunch of herbal remedies to help speed up the healing process.

"I'm feeling good as new," Adora assured the girl and Perfuma seemed to relax a bit.

"That's good to hear," she responded. "And how are you doing spiritually? Extreme violence like that can really throw a person off."

"Honestly," Adora said with a tired sigh, "I still think of it. I'll just get random flashbacks to being hit or pushing Lonnie or just the anger I felt. And I'm getting along just fine, but I can't seem to forget about it either."

Perfuma put a delicate hand on Adora's shoulder. She smelled like flowers and her hand had at least one ring on each finger. "You will," Perfuma promised. "Eventually you'll be able to leave it all behind. Have you tried that meditation I told you about?"

Adora nodded. "I did! I think it could end up helping. It's hard to not think about anything, though."

"Definitely. And you have a very overactive mind. But if you keep trying it eventually you'll be able to get to a good state of zen. Promise." Perfuma replied confidently.

"I believe you. It felt good for the bit that I was able to kinda shut down. And then Glimmer knocked on my door and asked if I wanted to play with a snake she found in the backyard." Adora smiled wryly at the memory.

Perfuma laughed lightly at the story. "Well just keep at it and know it's fine if you get interrupted or miss a day. It's all about what's best for you."

"Yeah. Yeah I like that," Adora responded. "Thanks, Perfuma."

"Of course! Anything I can do to help. And as for Lonnie...I try to love others, but she really makes that difficult. If I wasn't a pacifist…" Perfuma shook her head and looked off distantly.

Adora chuckled. "Well don't abandon your morals just for Lonnie. She's not worth it. And after Friday, I never wanna be in a fight again either."

"Well that's good to hear," Perfuma said joyfully. "But really if you need anything just let me know," she said sincerely.

"I will. You're like the wisest person I know," Adora said honestly.

Perfuma beamed at this and gave Adora a small hug before starting to walk off. "I'll see you in art tomorrow! And good luck on that project in psychology class!" She drifted off slowly and Adora's face twisted into confusion.

_"A psychology project?" _Adora thought, confused. _"I'm not even taking psychology."_ Adora thought about it for a bit before writing it off as a misunderstanding.

* * *

Scorpia had spent a lot of time worrying about Catra over the break. She wished she hadn't been down on the field and had instead been with Catra when she had needed her. The entire thing greatly confused Scorpia. Lonnie had always been a little angry, but Scorpia didn't think she'd ever try and beat anyone up.

Scorpia had visited Catra at her home last Saturday. She had wanted to head over Friday after her game, but Catra's dad had said it would be best to let her rest. Scorpia had barely slept that night. She texted Catra, who insisted that she was fine, but it was hard not to be able to comfort her in person.

Finally, the next day she was able to come over and see how she was doing. Catra was bed-ridden. Not out of choice, but because her dad had said that if she didn't rest and heal he'd ground her for a week. Other than that, he didn't seem too mad about the entire event. He was nervous about how it would affect her school, but he was glad that his daughter had helped someone who was in trouble.

Catra had seemed rather proud of herself as well. Other than that, however, she didn't want to talk about it. Scorpia had gotten the feeling that fighting one of her old friends had hurt her a lot more than she let on. Scorpia didn't push it though and made sure to keep the conversation off of the fight.

Scorpia had babied her for hours and they spent some quality time lying on her bed and chatting. Scorpia thought, as she often did, if it was a good time to ask Catra if she wanted to go to the Fall Formal with her, but decided against it. It just hadn't felt right yet.

Now Scorpia was waiting at Catra's locker, as she normally did before they went to lunch together. She was twiddling her thumbs and wondering how Catra's break had been. She hadn't gotten to talk to the girl in person since last Saturday and she wanted to make sure everything was okay. And that her nose had healed up alright.

Scorpia finally spotted her through the steady flow of students and smiled instinctively. She looked like she was laughing at something. Scorpia realized that Adora was walking with her and they seemed to be having a good time. Scorpia thought it was good that Catra was making a new friend. Even if it had come out of nowhere and even though Catra had been spending gym class with Adora the last few classes.

Scorpia felt a split second of jealousy, but nipped it in the bud soon after it arose. Catra was free to talk to whoever she wanted. Plus it was good for Catra to have more friends. Not a best friend and potential girlfriend like Scorpia, of course, but just a casual buddy.

Scorpia watched as the two parted ways and Catra walked over to her locker, an extra spring in her step. Scorpia waved as she approached and Catra smiled at the girl.

"Hey, Scorpia," Catra greeted her kindly and started to enter her combination into her locker.

"Hey, Cat," Scorpia responded quickly. "It's good to see you! How's your nose? Are you feeling okay? Oh and how was your counseling? Was it as lame as you thought? Have you seen Lonnie yet?"

Catra's eyes widened slightly at Scorpia's onslaught of questions. "It's like twenty questions over here," she said jokingly. "But yeah the old sniffer is fine. I feel good. Counseling was whack. She kept saying all this unrelated stuff and it all seems like a waste of time. I'll tell you about it at lunch. And no to the Lonnie thing. Haven't seen her all day. Lucky me."

"Yeah that is good," Scorpia said thoughtfully as she played with the zipper on her jacket and watched Catra rummage around in her locker. "Hey, Catra?"

"Yeah?" Came Catra's voice from inside of her locker.

Scorpia paused. "Uh...nevermind," she said quickly. She had wanted to ask if Catra was going to the dance. And then possibly steer the conversation towards asking her to go. But she decided now was a bad time. There were too many people around and the dance still wasn't for a while. She decided to wait a little longer. She still had time, after all.

"Your shoes look nice," Scorpia complimented the girl suddenly.

Catra looked down at her old combat boots and then at Scorpia with a strange grin. "If you say so. These things are falling apart."

"Well they look good on you," Scorpia said quickly and Catra smiled.

"Thanks. You trying to butter me up or something?" Catra asked jokingly.

"No of course not," Scorpia said with an awkward laugh. "Just a big fan of those shoes. On you."

Catra chuckled. "Okay, whatever. Let's go get some lunch, I'm starving."

The pair walked off to the lunch room together as they did everyday. Side by side.

* * *

"And then she gets to the pillar of the ocean god and she, like, speaks a certain phrase in this language that only she knows, you know cuz she's like otherworldly and stuff. And then the big gate opens like 'wooosh' and she hears a voice that tells her to enter and so basically…" Bow stopped for a moment to take a sip of his strawberry milk.

Glimmer and Adora sat across from him at the lunch table half listening to Bow go on and on about a book he had started reading. Adora found it kind of calming to listen to the boy excitedly drone on about the things he read. Glimmer mostly just tuned it out. She had learned long ago that Bow's book talks could last hours and did not want to get stuck in another one.

"...and the sea god is all like, 'Ah yes I have seen someone of your kind here before.' And she's like, 'what?' and then guess what?" Bow questioned the table with eager anticipation.

"What, Bow?" Adora asked with an endearing smile.

"It was her mother! She had visited the temple like forever ago! She's one step closer to finding her mother and unlocking her true potential! Great stuff. Loving it." Bow smiled to himself and nodded slowly.

"Sounds like it's pretty cool," Adora said and Bow nodded in agreement.

"Sounds like you're a pretty big nerd! Ooohhhh!" Glimmer exclaimed jokingly and began to laugh.

Bow shook his head ruefully, a big grin etched on his face, regardless. He started to say something, but he was cut short by Mermista as she pulled up a chair and sat down next to Adora. She looked Adora over quickly.

"You look, like, pretty good for just being in a fight. That means you totally won," Mermista explained cooly.

Adora scoffed. "Yeah it doesn't feel like anybody won."

"Well if anyone did it was you. Or Catra. That girl doesn't have a scratch on her. But Lonnie though. Like, you guys really showed her. I saw a picture of her afterwards and she looked so ro…"

"You know," Adora interrupted, "I'd really rather not talk about it if that's okay."

"Oh." Mermista didn't normally show much emotion, but there was a clear look of regret in her face. "Sorry. I, like, didn't know it was a sore subject or whatever."

While Adora and Mermista were talking, Glimmer looked over to Bow and whispered, "Are we the cool table now?" Bow nodded rapidly in affirmation.

"It's fine," Adora said with a wave of her hand. "It's not your fault. I just don't like thinking about it more than I have to."

"Yeah that makes sense," Mermista said softly. "Just wanted to check and make sure you were alright. And, like, I'm also upset that this happened at, like, the one time I wasn't around."

Adora smiled. "Yeah well she's definitely scared of you."

"Heh. Yeah," Mermista said with a proud smirk. "Anyway," she leaned back in her chair, "how are you two doing?" She motioned towards Glimmer and Bow.

"I'm just living my best life," Bow said joyfully.

Glimmer laughed nervously. "Yeah I'm…heh. Yeah I'm really good too. It's…uh...not used to seeing you around here. Like at the table and all. Soooo…" Glimmer trailed off, a look of suppressed panic on her face.

Bow and Adora looked at her like she had gone crazy. Mermista just thought she was weird. "Well that's good to hear...I think," Mermista said slowly. "Anyway I'm gonna bounce. But I'm glad you're doing alright. If you ever get in another fight then, like, call me or something."

"Will do," Adora said with a grin as Mermista got up and left.

The table was quiet for a few seconds as Mermista walked away. Then Bow turned to Glimmer suddenly. "What the heck was that?" Bow asked. "You, like, turned into mindless jelly!"

Glimmer saw both of her friends staring at her questioningly and looked down, embarrassed. "Ugh don't remind me. She's just so cool and pretty and my mind blanked. I panicked!" Glimmer exclaimed as she began to stress eat a handful of grapes.

Adora burst into laughter and Bow smiled. "I forgot you had that whole thing with Mermista," Bow said as if recalling a memory fondly.

"This is getting good," Adora said enthusiastically, her laughter subsided and her interest piqued.

Glimmer's face reddened. "It was not a _thing_!"

Bow smiled. "I seem to recall something about a friendship bracelet?"

"Oh man," Glimmer whimpered quietly. "That was a long time ago. I have moved past that desperate stage of my life."

Bow chuckled and Adora propped her elbows up onto the table facing Glimmer. "No you gotta tell me about this now."

"It was so stupid," Glimmer said, ashamed. "I made a dumb friendship bracelet for Mermista in the 4th grade because I thought she was cute and I left it on her desk anonymously on Valentine's day. End of story."

"Awwww," Adora crooned. "Little Glimmer had a little crush."

"Oh shut up," Glimmer whined, trying to cover her face with her hands.

Bow laughed contentedly. "Yeah that was some premium Glimmer content right there. I had no idea she still had that effect on you!"

"I didn't either," Glimmer said with a sigh.

"Well why don't you talk to her? Her locker is right next to mine! You could just stroll up and talk to me and then just kinda segway into a conversation with her," Adora explained, trying to encourage her friend.

Glimmer shook her head abruptly. "Nope. Not happening. You saw that disaster. Plus she's been out of my league since forever."

Adora thought back to a conversation she had with Mermista a while back. "You know, now that I think about it, one time we were talking and she called you cute. Like a little cotton candy," Adora patted the top of Glimmer's head gently.

Glimmer momentarily choked on her grapes and turned an unnatural shade of red. "I…I need to go for a walk." Glimmer got up slowly and waddled off away from the table.

Adora smiled widely as her friend walked away. "She's okay, right?"

Bow nodded. "Probably. But you are reawakening grade school fantasies in her little cotton candy head."

"I guess so. I just can't believe that was a thing," Adora said wondrously.

"It very much was. And speaking of things…" Bow said slowly and raised his eyebrows at Adora.

Adora rolled her eyes. "I guess I've deprived you of gossip for too long, huh?"

"Any amount of time would be too long," Bow said dramatically. "But really. How are things going with the possible love interest?"

Adora looked around them quickly to make sure nobody was listening before answering. "I don't know, Bow. It's weird. I can't tell if they wanna be friends or, like, more than that."

"Well are you keeping an eye out for the signs?" Bow asked curiously.

"Yeah. They did react I think when I touched them. And they are kind of awkward around me I guess. And they stare sometimes. But I don't know. I don't have a basis for this stuff!" Adora grasped her forehead. She had been grappling with these questions for a while now and it felt good to talk to Bow about it.

"Well all of that is kind of telling," Bow said slowly. "What do you two talk about? What do you do together?"

"We talk about a lot, I guess. Mostly just getting to know one another," Adora explained. "We hang out at school mostly. Oh but we did go skating and had a picnic."

"Skating and a picnic?" Bow clarified. "Yeah no that's a textbook date."

"It wasn't a…date. It was real casual and stuff," Adora said, considering Catra's motives for their hanging out that day.

"I mean you could be right," Bow admitted. "People are weird and this person specifically seems like they're causing you a lot of confusion."

Adora nodded, deep in thought, and Bow continued. "So the only logical thing to do is ask them," he said bluntly.

"What?" Adora asked loudly. "I can't just ask them? That'd be so embarrassing if they weren't into me and I thought they were. Everything would be so weird," she fretted.

"No trust me it'll be fine. With these things you just gotta cut to the chase and figure out for good. What's the worst that can happen?"

"They laugh in my face and say 'of course I'm not into you, you idiot' and then they never talk to me again and then I literally die of embarrassment."

"Wow," Bow said, taken aback. "Yeah okay well that is probably the worst case. But that won't happen. Especially if you guys are as close as it sounds!"

"Yeah maybe," Adora groaned and ran her fingers through her hair.

"The real question is how do you feel? Are you into them?"

"I...man I don't know. It's crazy. I feel things. Pretty strongly. And I haven't, like, felt that before. But also I just never saw myself dating anyone. And I've never…I don't know. It's just all so new. Plus I still don't know if they like me in that way."

"I get what you're saying," Bow said assuringly. "It's confusing. And new. And just generally difficult. But spend some time thinking about what _you _want. You'll figure it out."

Adora managed a smile. "I think you're right. You're pretty good at this stuff."

Bow shrugged. "I dabble."

"Could I maybe get one of those massages you do?" Adora asked guiltily.

Bow snorted in response and scooted his chair out from the table. "Yeah get those shoulders over here."

* * *

"Hey I was wondering," Scorpia asked Catra, who was sitting on one of the benches in the locker room. "Could I like, possibly maybe work out with you and Adora today? It's just been kinda lonely working out alone. But if not, that's cool."

Catra inhaled slightly, weighing her next words carefully. She could tell that Scorpia missed working out together. And Catra loved working out with Scorpia, she just _really _loved working out with Adora. She didn't want to just leave Scorpia on her own. But at the same time, Catra really liked having the time alone with Adora.

Catra grappled with her answer, but luckily didn't have to make up her mind as Adora walked in and greeted them.

"Hey Catra, hey Scorpia," she said as she sat down on a bench and began to open her locker.

The pair waved at Adora and Catra took this opportunity to change the subject. "So Adora how was lunch?"

"Uh, it was a normal lunch I guess," Adora replied. "What about you guys?"

"Oh lunch was really nice!" Scorpia exclaimed. "Me and Catra and Kyle and Rogelio played thirty questions."

"I thought it was twenty questions?" Adora asked.

"Oh well it was. But Catra said we should change it to thirty cuz she gets mad when she can't guess it," Scorpia explained, shooting an endearing smile at Catra.

"I don't get mad," Catra grumbled. "Just slightly agitated. Twenty is not enough for anyone!"

Adora chuckled and turned back to her locker. Scorpia returned her focus to Catra. "So whaddya say about the whole working out with you guys thing? Not to be pushy or anything," Scorpia looked at Catra with her puppy dog eyes.

"Oh," Catra said, looking away from Scorpia's gaze and pretending she had forgotten about the question. "Well…uh...let's see…"

"I think that sounds really nice," Adora said from across the room and both girls turned to look at her. Adora looked away nervously. "Sorry I didn't mean to listen in, but all of us working out together sounds good to me."

Scorpia beamed and turned a pleading gaze to Catra.

"Yeah for sure!" Catra said convincingly. "That's what I was gonna say, but I didn't know if, like, Adora would be okay with it. But yeah sounds super great!" Inwardly, Catra couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that she wouldn't get her one on one time with Adora.

Scorpia squealed and wrapped her arms around Catra in a tight hug. "Yay! Workout squad!"

* * *

"Wow your biceps are huge!" Adora said as she looked over Scorpia's arms. "Do you lift outside of class?"

Scorpia smiled widely, very proud of herself. "I do! There's a gym by my house!"

"Oh yeah? I might have to check it out sometime. I've been looking for a good gym," Adora replied.

"It's pretty great! I know the owner so I could get you in as a guest whenever you want! And by the way, your arms are looking pretty dang good as well," Scorpia gestured to Adora's arm and Adora smiled, flattered.

"Well thank you! I'm nowhere near as strong as you, but I'm working on it slowly," Adora said as she squeezed her own bulky bicep.

"Well you could get there in no time for sure! I've seen you lift and you've got some serious stamina!" Scorpia complimented Adora.

Adora thanked Scorpia and continued to talk about weight lifting.

Catra, meanwhile, sat between the two and stared vacantly into oblivion. She had long ago zoned out as Scorpia and Adora began to talk continuously about lifting heavy things. "_What monster have I created?" _Catra lamented internally as she painfully watched the girls in front of her talk about protein shakes and other dumb stuff.

She was glad they were getting along, but it soon became clear that Scorpia and Adora had a lot more in common that Catra and Adora did.

"Haha lifting am I right?" Catra said sarcastically, and both girls stopped conversing and turned to look at her. "Look guys, I love to compare arms and stuff, trust me I do, but I'm really lacking in the work out department and honestly at this point I'd rather actually exercise than talk about it."

Adora and Scorpia looked back at each other.

"Later?" Adora asked Scorpia and the girl nodded in response.

"Definitely," she said with a smile and turned to her friend. "Sorry," she said abashedly. "I kinda forgot you were there."

Catra shook her head in disbelief. "You two are truly a force of evil. Put you two in a room together and you'll just start eating raw eggs and doing one armed push-ups or whatever."

Adora laughed. "That actually sounds kinda fun."

Scorpia laughed loudly and Catra frowned in response.

_"I wonder if it's too late to drop this class?"_ Catra wondered to herself for nowhere near the first time as the self-proclaimed 'workout squad' began their first exercise for the day.

_**Adora and Scorpia are def hardcore gym nuts. You just know it. Okay one thing to point out if you were confused by it cuz it's been a while. When Perfuma referenced Adora's psychology project that was in reaction to Catra's probing her a couple chapters ago. That was part of her lie. Just wanted to remind everyone of that cuz, I don't know, memory is hard. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It feels like a much needed cool down after a lot of big stuff. But much bigger stuff is on the way! As always, thanks for reading and giving me freaking fantastic reviews that have really made me think and evolve the story. Love you all!**_


	17. Chapter 17

"Hey, Catra," Scorpia said slowly. "So you know that dance they put on every Fall? Well I was just thinking...Normally I wouldn't wanna go, but with you…I'd wanna go anywhere. What I'm asking is…will you go to the Fall Formal with me?"

Scorpia gazed into her mirror with a hopeful expression and then smiled. "_That was a good one," _she congratulated herself.

She had been practicing while getting ready the last couple mornings. At first, she had stumbled over her words despite just talking to a mirror, but now she was able to get out everything she wanted to say without messing up too bad.

_"The only thing left to do is to ask her," _Scorpia told herself as she brushed her tuft of white hair to one side, exposing the shaved side of her head. She looked at herself in the mirror and gritted her teeth in determination. This had to be the year that she actually did it.

Scorpia loved being Catra's friend. But more than anything she wanted to be even closer. Beneath Catra's rough exterior was a caring girl with a warm heart who Scorpia had fallen head over heels for. It was time that Catra knew.

_"Step one, invite to dance. Step two, go to dance. Step three, I ask her if she wants to date and she says yes and it's happily ever after." _Scorpia reminded herself of her grand scheme.

It was flawless. She had run it by Rogelio and he had assured her that it was a good plan. On top of that, Catra knew Scorpia better than anybody else and vice versa. In Scorpia's opinion, there was nobody who could be a better match for either of them.

_"It will all work out," _Scorpia repeated to herself, staring into the eyes of her mirrored reflection. _"Be brave, Scorpia. You're an unstoppable force and you're looking especially jacked today."_

Scorpia smiled at her own positive reinforcement, took a deep breath, and began to leave for school.

* * *

Bow was walking to his first class of the day when he caught a glimpse of movement in his peripheral. He turned and saw Catra forming a poor looking bird shape with her hands and awkwardly flying it upwards.

Bow instantly recognized it as their symbol and did a thumbs up in response. Catra nodded from across the hall with a satisfied look on her face and turned back to her business.

Bow continued to his class and realized that he had a decision to make. He had learned yesterday that Adora was starting to fall for her mystery suitor. Bow was very happy to hear this and he was glad that Adora was figuring this out. On the other hand, he had no idea what to tell Catra if she asked.

The obvious choice was to just tell her the truth and let Catra know that Adora seemed to be somewhat interested in this other person. The only problem was that Bow didn't think Catra would take it very well. He imagined Catra rushing to Adora and madly proclaiming her love before anybody else could. And that would be bad.

Even worse, she might have found out who the person in question was, and upon realizing this would try to sabotage her and Adora's relationship. This seemed extreme, but Bow didn't know Catra well enough to know what she would do.

He did, however, know that she was reckless, very determined, and hardcore crushing on Adora. And those were a dangerous combination. Bow ran his fingers through his well-groomed hair and sighed. It was too early for these big choices.

* * *

"So, like, I was thinking," Catra said premeditatively. "What if you just tell Mrs. Hope that I'm clear and sorry for my actions and then we don't have to see each other anymore?"

Madame Razz cocked her head, sitting across from Catra in her old, leather armchair. "Why would I want to do that?" She asked curiously. "I quite enjoy our meetings."

Catra shrugged. "I mean, yeah I figured. I just thought I'd give it a shot."

Madame Razz looked the girl over. She sat in a very closed off manner, leaning back in her armchair with her arms crossed. "Well Catra, I think you could benefit from having someone to talk to."

Catra frowned. "I have loads of people to talk to already."

"And who are these people?" Madame Razz asked.

"Well," Catra said defensively, "I have my friend Scorpia and there's Adora, you know her, and my dad and…I don't know there's these guys Kyle and Rogelio and they're pretty cool I guess."

Madame Razz nodded. "And how many of them do you feel comfortable talking to about your feelings? About personal things?"

"Well…you know. Probably, like, Adora. We're getting there. And my dad sometimes, I guess. If I have to."

"So the things you don't tell others. What do you do with them?" Madame Razz asked, sounding genuinely interested.

"Well I just keep 'em to myself I guess. It's alright to have secrets," Catra said quickly.

"I agree," Madame Razz said with a nod. "But I also think that not _everything _needs to be a secret. You haven't told me the truth even once about how you feel about the fight you were in."

"I did so," Catra objected. "I said I feel fine."

"You did. But that's not the truth, is it?" Madame Razz asked and observed Catra as her face appeared troubled for a passing second. "I think you are good at hiding how you feel, Catra. And I think it's hard for you to hold it all in. I don't expect you to tell me everything, but I would suggest you find someone you can do that with."

Catra considered Razz's analysis of her and found that it actually felt more on point than she would like to admit. She sat there quietly for a bit and Madame Razz seemed content in the silence.

It continued on like that for a minute or so until Catra became annoyed by the quietness. "Okay fine what do you wanna talk about?"

"Anything you want. I'm here for you," Madame Razz responded caringly.

Catra rolled her eyes. "Well you don't happen to know how to pass an Algebra test do you?" Catra asked sarcastically.

Madame Razz smiled. "I _was_ very good at Algebra in high school. But that's not what we're here for. You don't have to talk about anything if you don't want to. We can just sit in here every morning and stare at one another."

Catra frowned. "Well if I show progress or something, can I stop coming to these?"

"I believe that can be arranged, yes," the counselor replied.

Catra sat up slightly in her chair. "Well then I think I'm ready to talk about whatever you want," Catra said eagerly.

Madame Razz smiled warmly, her face wrinkling. "Well hold that feeling, dearie. We're out of time for this morning. They don't give me near enough time for the three of you."

Catra groaned. "Okay fine, but I don't think I'll need many more of these before I'm done!" She rose from her seat and headed towards the door.

"It was nice seeing you! Please send in Lonnie if you could," she reminded her as she left.

Catra walked down the hall and walked past Mr. Hordak.

"Always nice to see you, Mr. Hordak," she said petulantly as she walked by. He just muttered something under his breath and kept walking.

She got out to the main office and saw Lonnie sitting in a chair. "Hey it's your turn or whatever," Catra told the girl before quickly walking off. She was almost out the door when she heard Lonnie's voice behind her.

"Hey, Catra," Lonnie said quietly from across the office, causing Catra to stop and turn around. Lonnie was looking at her curiously. "Do you...do you remember that time we dressed up as pirates for Halloween and ran around all night terrorizing the neighborhood?"

Catra instantly remembered the moment and how much fun they had that night. A lot of drama with Catra's parents had been going on at the time, but Lonnie had managed to make Catra forget about it. It all felt like a lifetime ago. For a brief moment, she met Lonnie's eyes, which held a complex emotion in them. Then Catra gritted her teeth and shook her head.

"No I don't," she replied coldly and turned around, abruptly leaving the office and Lonnie behind. As she walked away she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.

* * *

Catra tried to forget about that morning and by the time lunch rolled around she had put it behind her. She sat at their table with Kyle. He was talking about something dumb that Catra didn't care about and she had zoned out a while ago.

Instead she watched Adora from across the cafeteria. She was sitting in her usual spot. She was eating and laughing with Glimmer and Bow. Catra loved seeing her laugh. Of course, she liked it better when she wasn't a lunch room away from Adora, staring at her like a creep.

Catra's attention shifted to Bow and her excitement surged. She had to ask him if he had found anything out. She had to know everything she could. She already had plans for Halloween and the Fall Formal. She just needed to set things up. And Bow had been a huge help so far.

Catra then observed the last member of the table and felt an immediate surge of anger as she watched Glimmer.

_"If it wasn't for her, we wouldn't have to sneak around," _Catra thought. Catra was pretty tired of Glimmer interfering in her life.

With the current situation, Catra couldn't help but feel like Adora was hiding her like a secret. Or maybe that she was ashamed of her. Whatever it was, it didn't feel good.

_"Maybe I should just go up to their table and sit down," _Catra mused, imagining the shocked looks on their faces and smiling to herself.

She suddenly snapped her attention back to her table and realized Kyle was still talking. Classic Kyle. Catra sighed and listened to him talk about whatever it was as she picked through her lunch half-heartedly.

Before long, Rogelio and Scorpia showed up together and sat down at the table. Kyle and Catra greeted them and they settled into their usual spots. Scorpia sat down and scooted her chair closer to Catra.

"Hey, Cat," Scorpia said as she elbowed the girl lightly. "I got you a pudding!"

Catra smiled and accepted the treat. Scorpia was always good at getting her mind off of things. "Thanks," she said and started eating her pudding gift.

The table was pretty quiet for a while as the four friends ate together. The quiet was a little uncharacteristic, Catra noticed. Usually Scorpia was the one to start up conversations, but today she seemed preoccupied.

"Nice day, huh?" Scorpia said after a while.

The rest of the table nodded in agreement, except for Catra.

"It's too cold," she said upsettingly. "You can feel stupid winter creeping in already."

"Oh yeah, I hate winter," Scorpia agreed quickly. She paused for a while. "But uh…they have that uh…that dance coming up," she mentioned slowly.

Kyle and Rogelio looked at each other briefly. They were wondering if today would be the day that Scorpia actually built up the courage to ask Catra to go to the dance with her.

"Oh yeah," Catra recalled. "Yeah it's always pretty lame though."

"Oh super lame," Scorpia agreed. "But… I don't know it might be kinda fun. Depends who you go with I guess." Scorpia could barely hear her own words over the quick pounding of her heart in her ears.

Kyle and Rogelio looked on in silent anticipation. This was the farthest they had ever seen Scorpia get.

"Guess it does," Catra replied, thinking of Adora.

"So…" Scorpia cleared her throat. "I was wondering…if…uh...you know if you weren't too busy…we could like…...check it out or whatever. Together." Scorpia got the last bit out and instantly held her breath. She hadn't said at all what she had wanted to say, but she hoped she had at least gotten the point across.

Kyle looked at Rogelio quickly and saw that his mouth was wide open in shock. He barely managed to hide his expression before Catra noticed.

Catra was initially confused by the question as Scorpia had never shown much interest in the school dances. But apparently Scorpia wanted to hang out at the formal this year. Which sounded fun enough to Catra, _except_ she had been planning to take Adora to the dance this year. She scrambled to think of an excuse.

"You know that sounds fun," Catra pointed out slowly and watched Scorpia light up. "But…" The levity on Scorpia's face faded with just the one word that Catra had uttered. "I think it's more of a date thing and less of, like, a friend thing you know?"

Catra congratulated herself mentally. That was a good excuse. It would keep Scorpia from wanting to go with her and also Catra wouldn't have to tell the whole table about her crush on Adora.

Scorpia was busy panicking. She had to get Catra to go with her. But she couldn't just tell her right here that she wanted to be more than just friends. "Well…" Scorpia said slowly. "I mean we could just go anyway. I think it would be fun regardless." Scorpia bit the inside of her cheeks tensely as she waited for Catra's response.

"Oh," Catra replied plainly, having not expected Scorpia to want to go this badly. "Well see...I…" Catra's mind raced through dozens of options and excuses before she just decided to be straightforward about everything. "...I just think I might actually ask someone to go with me this year."

Catra wasn't in any way ready for the panicked look in Scorpia's eyes when she said this and immediately scrambled to make her friend feel better. "But hey, like, the dance is lame anyway. We can do other friend stuff! We can have another popcorn party! You love popcorn! That sounds good, right?"

Catra had no idea why Scorpia was so hurt by this. Maybe it was because they hadn't been hanging out as much as they used to. Still, it was strange for Scorpia to be so worked up about Catra skipping out on one night.

Scorpia looked down at her hands on the table, trying to avoid meeting Catra's concerned gaze. "Yeah that sounds good," she said weakly. "I need to go to the bathroom," she said and stood up, quickly speeding away. As she left, Catra could have sworn she caught a glimpse of tears in the girl's eyes.

Catra watched her go, dumbfounded, before turning to Kyle and Rogelio. "What? Did you guys see that? What was that about?"

The pair nodded. Rogelio looked like he was on the verge of tears as well. Kyle just frowned.

"I…Catra…you're telling me you really don't...?" Kyle trailed off and sighed.

Catra narrowed her eyes. "Don't what?"

"It's nothing. But…you need to talk to Scorpia. And really listen this time."

Catra scowled at the cryptic response and turned away from the boys. She glanced towards the bathroom where Scorpia had fled to and wondered what she had done wrong.

* * *

It was after lunch when Adora finally saw Frosta at her locker. She had been walking by frequently in between classes the last couple of days trying to get a hold of the girl. She approached rapidly and saw Frosta digging around in her locker.

Frosta could hear someone come up behind her. "What do you want?" She asked as she turned around, but upon seeing Adora her face lit up. "Oh hey, Adora!"

Adora smiled down at the girl who was bundled up in her puffy, blue coat despite it being pretty warm in the school. "Hey Frosta. I just wanted to say…"

Frosta raised a small hand, stopping Adora. "I know what you're gonna say. 'Oh Frosta, you're a total beast. I owe you my life.' But really, it's no big deal. I was just repaying a debt." Frosta smiled and rocked back and forth on the heels of her feet.

"Well I mean all I did was lend you my backpack! And then you…I mean gosh I don't know what I would have done without you," Adora explained honestly.

Frosta grinned, pride flaring in her dark brown eyes. "Well that does sound good to hear actually. I was gonna do the whole thing where I insist that you don't thank me, but I like where this is going."

Adora snorted. "Well then thank you. Thank you very much. And I'm glad you were able to slip away at the end of everything!"

"Oh yeah!" Frosta exclaimed, looking around to make sure nobody was paying attention. "Yeah I felt bad for bailing, but things were kinda going crazy."

"Yeah it got pretty bad. But it would've been worse without you for sure."

"Yeah you're probably right. Oh man did you see that drop kick though? I just ran in and was like 'wooosh!' And she was all like, 'oof!'" Frosta laughed, recalling the memory. "But really, I'm glad you're okay. I kept thinking about all that blood on your face…" Frosta shivered slightly.

"Well hey," Adora said, gesturing to the small bandage that still covered the spot on her cheek. "All better."

Frosta smiled. "Good. I was worried there for a bit when you kinda froze up, but then your girlfriend came in swingin' and next thing you know that g…"

"Woah, woah, woah," Adora said abruptly, visibly embarrassed. "Catra is not…we aren't dating or anything."

Frosta tilted her head to one side quizzically. "Did you guys break up or something?"

"What? No. I mean…yes? We were never together is what I mean," Adora explained nervously, sweat accumulating on her brow.

"Never together?" Frosta muttered to herself. "Well maybe I'm going crazy, but she said you guys were a thing."

"She…she what? When?" Adora scrambled to understand what Frosta was saying.

"Well yeah," Frosta replied slowly, not wanting to upset Adora. "The other day she came and talked to me and told me that you two were a couple and asked me if you were interested in anyone else besides her. I thought she was just _way_ paranoid so I told her off. I was kinda mean actually so you can tell her I'm sorry."

Adora narrowed her eyes and tried to wrap her head around this. "I…yeah okay. Thanks for telling me. Hey I gotta go. I'll talk to you later," she said distantly and walked off.

"Okay," Frosta called after her awkwardly. "I hope everything's okay!"

* * *

Catra didn't see Scorpia for the rest of the day. Not even at the end of the day, when Scorpia usually hung out at her locker. It felt strangely empty without Scorpia there, despite all of the students crowded around her.

Catra was getting worried. She hadn't meant to upset Scorpia and she had really had no idea that her friend had wanted to go to the dance so bad.

She pulled out her phone and shot Scorpia a text. It read, 'Hey I'm sorry about earlier. Are u okay?'

Catra waited for a while, but didn't get a response so she put her phone away. With all of the stuff with Scorpia going on, she had almost forgotten that she had called a meeting with Bow. Maybe that would get her mind off of everything.

She grabbed her backpack and decided she had some time before talking to Bow. She went straight to Scorpia's locker, looking for the girl. She wasn't at her locker and Catra didn't spot her anywhere nearby.

She searched for a while longer before ultimately giving up. Wherever she was, she didn't want to be found. Catra just hoped that she'd feel better by tomorrow.

Catra kicked the bottom of a locker in frustration and decided to go and sit out front and wait for Bow to be ready. She went outside and disappointedly realized that it had gotten even colder since this morning. She zipped up her leather jacket and looked out at the lot.

She didn't see Glimmer's car, but Bow's was still sitting out in the mostly vacant parking lot. She walked over to the car, making sure to triple check that Glimmer and Adora were actually gone before she approached.

She recognized the outline of Bow sitting in the car as she got nearer and picked up her pace. She hurried up to the passenger door and opened it, taking a seat inside. She sighed contentedly as she felt the heat from the vents start to warm her cold skin.

"Hey, Bow," she said casually as she put her hands up, warming them in front of the vents.

"Hey," Bow said and turned the heat up for the girl, who was shivering profusely. "Wow you don't do good with the cold, huh?"

Catra shook her head. "The cold is evil. Not that you'd agree. You're always wearing your crop tops."

Bow chuckled. "I appreciate a clear midriff! It's very freeing."

"Well I appreciate this heat right now," Catra said thankfully. "And I'd also appreciate some news on how Adora's doing. What's the word on that other chump?"

"You mean the other person who's into Adora?" Bow asked. "Well…"

Catra instantly noticed Bow's hesitation. "Oh no. I swear Bow, I've had a crazy day and if you drop some bad news on me right now I'm gonna flip."

Bow bit his lip and squirmed in his seat. "Oh man. I don't…agh! I hate conflict!" He exclaimed, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

"Well I'm sure that's a great sign," Catra remarked, exhaling loudly. "Just throw it at me, man. I can take it."

"Okay," the boy said hesitantly. "Well…that other girl. It's getting more serious I think."

Catra felt her stomach drop out like she was falling from an impossible height.

"How?" she uttered bluntly.

Bow swallowed and instantly felt bad for Catra. "She said they've been hanging out more and…"

"Bow," Catra said warningly.

"Adora is starting to feel some things too," Bow blurted out and then shot a glance over to Catra to see how she was doing.

She looked surprisingly calm. She was staring out the front window.

"You okay?" Bow asked. "I have chocolate in here if you want it," Bow said comfortingly as he gestured towards his glove box.

"No I don't want chocolate," Catra said quickly. "Chocolate is for quitters."

"Well I wouldn't say th…" Bow started to say until he was interrupted by Catra.

"I'm not giving up. I've been spending more time with Adora too and I really like who she is. No wonder someone else is into her. But I have something they don't." Catra said determinedly.

Bow cocked his head. "What's that?"

"A crippling amount of stubbornness," Catra said defiantly. "I'm gonna go all in. Really butter her up. Win her over."

Bow smiled at the courage of the girl. "Well I won't stop you, but just keep in mind that what Adora wants matters too. If she's really into this other girl then that might just be what's meant to be."

"Pshh. There's no such thing as meant to be. It'll be what I make it."

Bow whistled in admiration. "Wow I don't know if I should be scared of you or respect you."

Catra snickered. "I'd prefer an equal share of both."

Bow smiled. "So are you just gonna tell her then?"

Catra thought about it. "I will soon. But I'm not ready yet. I'm just gonna treat her right. And do a better job of conveying to her that I want more than just a friendship."

Bow nodded. "That actually sounds like a really good and healthy idea. But I'll just prewarn you, if you were to ever try and mess up stuff in her life to get her to date you I'm gonna have to intervene somehow."

Catra snorted. Something about the idea of Bow trying to stop her from doing something was funny to her. She looked over at Bow to see that he wasn't joking. It was actually the most serious that she had ever seen Bow.

"Yeah I get it. You know I care about her too right? I wouldn't be that selfish."

Bow looked her over and smiled a little. "I believe you."

Catra didn't hear that a lot and it felt good to hear Bow say it. She looked out of the fogged up window at the cold parking lot and sighed. "Can you maybe just give me a ride home today?"

"Sure can!" Bow announced. "Doesn't Scorpia usually drive you?"

"Yeah. Yeah she does," Catra said quietly.

Bow sensed something there, but didn't want to pry. "Well I'll give you a ride for sure. And you know…if you ever want to talk…" Bow suggested.

Catra smiled. "You're just one awkward hand signal away. Thanks, Bow."

"Anytime," Bow said as he started to drive away from the lot.

As they drove, Catra caught Bow shooting furtive glances over at her. She ignored it for a while, but eventually she got annoyed and turned to face him. "Okay what do you want?" She asked bluntly.

"Oh," Bow said slowly. "Well…I was kinda wondering if I could have my spy shades back. You know…if you're done with them."

Catra snorted and took the glasses out of her jacket pocket. "Yeah I guess you can have 'em back," she said after some thought. "But I gotta say I got pretty attached."

"Well if you ever wanna borrow them, you can," Bow said happily as Catra tucked the shades into his glove box. "We can have shared custody of the shades."

Catra chuckled and the two made light conversation as they drove to Catra's house.

_**Meant to put this one out earlier and then totally forgot! Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter. This one kinda set some stuff in action. There's gonna be some new dynamics now. Also sad Scorpia hurts my soul. And then maybe next chapter a new character? Or the next one. Not sure but it'll be fun. Thanks for all the support and I really hope you all have the best possible day.**_


	18. Chapter 18

"Okay I got a question for you today," Catra said, not skipping a beat, as she barged into Madame Razz's office and plopped down into her usual armchair.

Madame Razz looked taken aback by Catra's forwardness and placed down her cup of tea. "Well I would be glad to help you out, dearie," she said warmly. "Would you like some tea?"

"Ew. I'll pass on the hot leaf water," Catra replied quickly.

Madame Razz just shrugged and got up to close the door of the office. She then turned back to Catra and sat across from her. "What would you like to talk about?"

Catra ran a hand through her hair and resisted the urge to chew at her nails. "My friend. It uh…I don't know it seems stupid that I'm asking you, but the whole thing confuses me and I don't know what to do."

"I don't think it's stupid to ask for help, sweet child. Tell me what happened."

"Alright," Catra said, thinking back to yesterday. "Well basically I have this friend, Scorpia. And we've been friends for, like, forever. And she's mad at me now I think," Catra explained.

"What happened?" Razz asked.

"Well that's the thing is I don't even really know!" Catra exclaimed. "I mean she asked if I wanted to hang out at the Fall Formal or whatever and I said I couldn't and it really hurt her feelings for some reason. But she hasn't been talking to me and I have no idea what's going on." Catra threw her arms up in defeat and slouched back in her chair.

Razz nodded slowly. "Well it sounds to me like she was upset because of the dance. Why do you think that is?"

"No idea. I mean we hang out all the time and I've turned her down before when I'm busy or whatever and she's never reacted like this."

"Well it sounds like she really cares about this dance then. Has she been looking forward to it?"

Catra thought back. "No I don't think so. I mean I don't know. Maybe. But this was the first time she had talked to me about it."

Madame Razz scratched her chin and swirled her tea, the little spoon making clinking noises on the cup. "It sounds to me like she was really looking forward to it and just had her hopes a little too high. I think you should talk with her about it."

Catra sighed. "Well yeah I was gonna. I don't know, I just thought you'd have some wise sage advice or something that would fix it instantly."

Madame Razz chuckled raspily. "Well that is quite the compliment. But I am not a substitute for talking with others. I will gladly talk to you about anything you want and give you my opinion if you ask for it, but I can't solve every issue. You have to do that yourself."

"Figured," Catra said, visibly dissatisfied.

The rest of their meeting went as it usually did. Catra had a harder time focusing as she was still worried about how she would fix Scorpia.

She coasted through the rest of her counseling and sped out of the office the second she was dismissed. Adora had already taken her turn and Lonnie was waiting in the office. Catra didn't acknowledge her as she left the office.

She made her way to the lunch room and scanned the area for Scorpia. She saw the girl sitting alone at a table eating breakfast and immediately headed over.

"Scorpia," Catra said as she quickly pulled out a chair and sat down at the table next to the girl. "What in the world? I've been trying to get ahold of you and you keep ignoring me. What has been going on with you?"

Scorpia looked surprised to see Catra. "I...good morning," Scorpia responded and then hung her head. "Yeah sorry I didn't text you back or anything. I wasn't trying to ignore you."

"It really felt like that," Catra remarked and looked at the girl curiously. "Hey what happened at lunch yesterday?"

Scorpia sighed and started absentmindedly bending the fork she was holding. "I…you know, it was just a long day. I was really tired. It was dumb."

Catra frowned. "Well…okay. But, like, Scorpia I'm sorry about the dance thing. I just figured you wouldn't wanna go and so I just kinda planned to go with, like, a real date for once y'know?"

Catra felt weird telling Scorpia something so close to the truth. But she supposed she didn't have to tell Scorpia about Adora. For one, Catra didn't trust Scorpia to be able to keep a secret. And for two, Catra didn't even know how the whole Adora thing would play out.

Scorpia bit her lip and looked at Catra questioningly. "Uh…did you have anyone in mind for who you wanted to ask?"

"Uuuuhhhh nope," Catra replied quickly. "Not any ideas yet."

"Oh, okay," Scorpia said and Catra thought she noticed the girl become a little more animated. "Well it's coming up! Maybe someone will ask you!"

Scorpia felt a rekindling of hope. Maybe her plan hadn't gone exactly as she had planned, but now all she had to do was tell Catra that she wanted to go as a real date and then everything would work out. She just had to work up the courage to tell her before the dance. And before Catra asked anyone else, which Scorpia couldn't see her doing.

Nobody else knew Catra like Scorpia did and there wasn't anybody else that Scorpia knew of who Catra could even ask.

Catra snorted at Scorpia's idea. "Yeah I doubt it. I'm not exactly anyone's first choice. But I'll figure something out."

Scorpia wanted to tell Catra how perfect she was and how she would be a great choice for anyone, but she choked on her words and Catra continued.

"Besides, if I don't figure something out, I'll just go with you and we can buddy it up. But I'm still wearing my suit. Cuz I will take any opportunity to wear my suit," Catra said seriously.

"I know how you love that suit," Scorpia said admiringly as she smiled at Catra.

"It's my pride and joy. The love of my life," Catra said sincerely.

Scorpia giggled. "I remember when we went and had you all measured for it."

"Oh I remember it too," Catra said, thinking back. "Didn't you, like, throw up that day in my dad's car?"

"No I threw up in the grass!" Scorpia whined. "I was super sick, but I really wanted to help you with suit shopping."

Catra grinned widely at the recollection and Scorpia shook her head. "Okay I'm gonna need a hug. This is a mandatory hug time," Scorpia said, opening her arms wide.

Catra rolled her eyes and leaned in, wrapping her arms around her friend. Scorpia always gave the best hugs.

"Hey, Catra?" Scorpia asked as they hugged.

"Yeah?" The girl replied as she started to pull away from the hug.

"I…" Scorpia paused. "...I'll tell you later."

"Sounds good," Catra said, happy that they had sorted things out.

* * *

"Goooooood morning. How's everyone's favorite new kid?" Catra asked Adora jokingly as she entered their English class and sat next to her.

Adora chuckled a little. "Pretty good. How are you?"

"Oh you know, I'm making it. Hey, I really like what you did with your hair today!" Catra said, impressed.

"Oh this? It's called doing absolutely nothing," Adora said with a smile.

"You sure?" Catra asked. "Your hair floof seems floofier than normal." Catra reached up and patted her hair gently.

"Well I guess it's just a good hair day then," Adora mused as she looked the girl over. She couldn't help but feel that everything was different. Not in a bad way, but still different.

When she had figured out about what Catra had said to Frosta, she had been a little overwhelmed at first. It was a lot to take in. For one, while she had been _pretty _sure that Catra was interested, it was a whole different matter to have it practically confirmed. And then there was also the fact that Catra had lied to Frosta about being in a relationship with her.

Adora had felt a strange mix of betrayal and elation at first. Catra's actions seemed strange and Adora wondered why a girl who was normally so forward had taken such precautions. But she hadn't stayed upset for long. She was sure Catra had a good reason for doing her weird reconnaissance. And, honestly, the fact that she had gone out of her way and tracked down her friend only made Adora feel more excited. It felt like everything Catra did or said nowadays was tossing up her mind like a pile of stray autumn leaves.

Adora had realized late last night that she _liked _the attention. She _liked _feeling…wanted. And pursued. It made her feel special in a way that she wasn't sure anyone but Catra could.

Adora had considered confronting Catra about the whole Frosta thing, but ultimately decided that she'd wait a bit and see what happened. She didn't know what she felt for Catra, but there was a lot of it. And she needed some time to sort it all out.

All of this raced through Adora's mind as she talked with Catra, trying not to be distracted by her own thoughts or by the low cut tee that Catra was wearing. This last bit surprised Adora and she felt almost ashamed of herself.

Actually, upon further investigation, it also looked like Catra had brushed her hair back again and Adora swore she could smell the faint scent of cologne. It reminded her of the night of the football game. When they sat behind the bleachers together.

"You doing alright?" Catra asked as students trickled into the classroom before class started. "You look a little…distant."

Adora shook herself out of her thoughts. "Yeah. Yes. I'm...pretty tired. I didn't sleep great last night."

Catra pouted out a lip. "Well that sucks. Did you try counting? That knocks me out hard."

Adora shook her head. "I just kept thinking of things. Counting doesn't really help."

Catra frowned and rested her weight on her elbows as she studied Adora carefully. "Maybe warm milk or something? I mean, we can't have you missing out on your beauty sleep. Not like you really need it anyway with how pretty you already are," Catra said nonchalantly.

Adora couldn't keep the surprise from her face. This felt like the most blatant flirting that Catra had ever done. Or maybe it was just because she was seeing it in a different light now. Regardless, Adora was flustered and more than anything she was excited.

Catra spotted the look of surprise and panicked internally while maintaining her calm expression on the outside. _"Oh my god that was so dumb," _Catra scolded herself. _"It was too much. And super cheesy. She hates it. She hates me. Oh gosh she's gonna call me gross I bet."_

Adora, however, did none of these things. She just smiled an adorable little smile and turned her head away bashfully.

Catra raised her eyebrows at this, honestly surprised that her attempt at open flirtation had actually worked. She had spent countless hours last night Googling how to flirt and she had collected an arsenal of tips and tricks. She realized that she didn't even have to be confident, she just had to appear confident.

Adora turned back and nodded. "Thanks," she said quietly and smiled again at Catra.

_"It worked!" _Catra squealed internally, relishing Adora's reaction. _"I'm a freaking genius! Why did I ever doubt myself? This could actually work."_

Catra didn't raise her hopes too high, as she still wasn't sure what the situation was like with the other girl who knew Adora, but this felt like a definite win. Plus, Catra hadn't discarded the option that Bow's intel wasn't entirely accurate in the first place.

Class started before they could talk anymore. Adora tried to focus on her notes, but her mind was all over the place. More specifically, all over the girl sitting next to her.

Catra was in a similar state. She doodled in her notebook and scrawled a little portrait of Adora on the page. It was messy and didn't actually look much like Adora, but it captured her essence and Catra was proud of it.

Neither of the girls noticed as they both shot furtive glances at each other for the rest of class.

* * *

"So you are going to the dance with her?" Kyle asked Scorpia for clarification as she rambled through an explanation of the current situation with Catra.

"Yes!" She said enthusiastically before pursing her lips. "Well…I mean not _technically_. Not yet at least. But she is looking for a genuine romance date and that's definitely me!"

She said this loudly and a few people in the lunch line next to Kyle and Scorpia looked over at the over excited girl.

"Well that's a good attitude I guess," Kyle said more quietly. "But I don't know, Scorpia I feel like there's something else going on."

"What do you mean?" Scorpia turned her big, now troubled eyes to Kyle and he instantly felt bad for upsetting her.

"I don't know. It could be nothing. But just...since when has Catra ever wanted to bring an actual date to a school dance?"

Scorpia scratched the back of her head thoughtfully. "I mean…she's probably just looking to start a meaningful connection."

"Yeah I guess," Kyle said, uncertain. "I'm just saying, she somehow has no idea that you're into her at all. So if she wants a date and you're not an option…"

"Yet!" Scorpia insisted, hoisting her fist into the air.

"Well yeah, but maybe that means there are other options she's looking at. I mean you know her. She wouldn't exactly be open with us if there were."

This gave Scorpia pause and she was quiet for a moment.

"But," Kyle interluded quickly, "I could be totally wrong!" He said in an attempt to make her feel better.

"You probably are," Scorpia agreed. "You don't know Catra like I do. We tell each other everything!"

Kyle nodded, but inside he knew it wasn't true. Catra had never been one to share her thoughts with anyone. Not even Scorpia.

Honestly, Kyle had always thought that Catra and Scorpia were never meant to be more than friends. They were close, but the dynamic wasn't right. Scorpia invested all of her energy and love into Catra and there never seemed to be any in return. At least not in the same way. Kyle doubted this would change even if Catra knew how Scorpia felt about her.

However, Kyle didn't like to meddle and he didn't want to dissuade Scorpia from whatever she wanted to do. And besides, he could be totally wrong about the whole thing.

"Well then maybe you're right," Kyle admitted. "And I really hope it works out for you, man. But you better get on it and tell her!"

"I know, I know," Scorpia said distractedly. "Kyle you're smart sometimes. How do you think I should tell her? Is there like a protocol or something?"

Kyle frowned at the 'sometimes,' but answered regardless. "I think if you just be your sweet, loving self and tell her honestly then it can't go wrong."

"Aww," Scorpia crooned. "Thanks, Kyle. You're so helpful." She patted her friend on the back, causing the small boy to stumble forward.

Kyle chuckled and brushed his hair out of his face. "Yeah no problem. I'm sure everything will go great."

"Me too," Scorpia said excitedly. "Oh hey where's Rogelio?"

Kyle sighed. "He caught a fever so he's home sick."

"Aw that sucks," Scorpia said thoughtfully. "Wow our table is gonna be real empty now."

Kyle frowned. "Yeah without Rogelio and…you know."

Scorpia knew he was talking about Lonnie. "Yeah I haven't talked to her since everything. I mean after what she did to Catra's nose!" Scorpia scowled and gritted her teeth.

Kyle hadn't seen Scorpia look angry…probably ever. It looked so out of place for the normally happy-go-lucky girl.

"Yeah," Kyle said slowly. "Yeah that whole thing was crazy. And I don't really miss talking to her either cuz she was pretty mean. But…I don't know she had her moments I guess."

Scorpia nodded solemnly. "Yeah maybe she used to. But that thing at the football game was too much. I mean we can't just forgive her after that."

Kyle shook his head. "Yeah no I agree. I just kinda miss _nice_ Lonnie y'know? She used to walk home with me and it was always real fun. Of course, that was like a couple years ago. But still…"

"Topic change!" Scorpia exclaimed and segwayed abruptly into a new conversation. She started telling Kyle about the dress she wanted to wear to the dance and Kyle just smiled and listened to all of her plans. He desperately hoped they all worked out.

* * *

Meanwhile, Adora sat with Glimmer at their lunch table. Bow hadn't gotten there yet and they just ate and talked.

"How's your battle scar?" Glimmer asked Adora, who absentmindedly put her hand up to her cheek.

"Oh it feels pretty good now. It hasn't hurt in a while. I think I can take it off this weekend," Adora replied.

"Cool," Glimmer said. "You can look like a grizzled soldier."

Adora laughed. "Yeah we'll see about that. How's your day been?"

Glimmer thought about it. "Pretty good actually! I gave my speech in public speaking!"

"Oh yeah?" Adora asked. "How'd it go?"

"Oh you know. Perfect score. No big deal," Glimmer said proudly.

"That's awesome, Glimmer," Adora said, happy for her friend. Glimmer had practiced last night and given her speech to Adora and Angella in the living room at least five times. "I still can't believe you can do that. I can hardly talk in front of one person, let alone a whole class."

"Yeah I feel you. It was a little scary at first, but now it's not a huge deal," Glimmer explained. "I actually think you'd be really good at it."

Adora shook her head fervently, but Glimmer insisted.

"No really!" She exclaimed. "You're real good with your words and stuff. And you're, like, uber smart. I bet you could write a great speech!"

"Yeah maybe write, but perform? No thanks," Adora said firmly.

"Oh I'm sure you could do it," Glimmer said encouragingly. "Anyway I meant to ask. How has Catra been? Is she still giving you trouble?"

Adora inhaled sharply at the mention of Catra. "Oh. Yeah Catra," Adora said slowly. "You know she really, uh, just hasn't said much of anything to me."

Glimmer's brow creased and she looked confused. "I still don't get that. Like, fine, maybe she just fought Lonnie off for some random reason. But why did she just stop bugging you all of a sudden?"

Adora shrugged. She uncomfortably wiped some sweat off of her brow. "Yeah who knows. She's weird. But as long as she doesn't mess with me anymore, I'm fine."

"Agreed. It still feels weird though. I just feel like there's something else going on with her," Glimmer said as she stabbed her fork around absentmindedly.

"Hmm. Maybe," Adora said quickly, eager to change the subject.

"That and she waved at me yesterday in the hallway," Glimmer recounted.

"She did?" Adora asked, honestly surprised.

"Yeah. It was super weird. Like we're supposed to be on the same page of hating one another."

Adora whistled slowly. "Yeah that whole 'hate' word is _pretty _strong."

Glimmer rolled her eyes. "Okay well I don't _hate_ her, but I definitely don't like her. And she started messing with you the second you started school! Maybe just to get to me…"

Adora almost laughed aloud at the comment. Catra had definitely not pestered her just to agitate Glimmer.

Adora just nodded and thought about Catra some more.

* * *

Scorpia didn't get to see much of Catra during Culinary since they weren't cooking that day. Instead she just planned her strategy.

She decided that it would be best to do it this weekend. She'd invite Catra over to her place to hang out or somewhere else maybe and then they'd have a nice time and when it felt right she'd just straight-up tell her how she felt.

Scorpia was equal parts excited and nervous. Neither of which were good for paying attention, and she barely retained any of what they covered in class.

When the bell rang, Scorpia quickly shrugged on her jacket and hurried over to Catra, who was gathering her stuff up.

"Hey, Cat, you excited for weights?" Scorpia asked enthusiastically.

"You know what? I am," Catra answered honestly. She absolutely hated that she had to do actual workouts now and she was _constantly _sore, but getting to spend that time with Adora was well worth it.

Now though, it seemed that their workout group consisted of Adora, Scorpia, and herself. This meant that Catra wouldn't get her regularly scheduled Adora time and she was not happy about it.

"You know Scorpia, I was actually thinking that maybe…I don't know...we could do like how we used to do in weights?" Catra suggested slowly.

Scorpia perked up. "Like with just you and me? Adora might feel a little left out, but I'm down if you are!"

"_Well_," Catra said to her eager looking friend. "I meant more like, you know, when me and Adora kinda did that thing where we work out together?"

Scorpia looked immediately crestfallen and Catra pretended not to notice. "But what's wrong with just the three of us working out?" Scorpia questioned as they navigated out of the classroom and down the hall. "It went fine last time."

Catra half nodded, her hair shifting around as she moved her head. "I mean yeah it was fine and all. But Scorpia, I really like spending this time with Adora, y'know? Just like how you like spending it with me."

Scorpia wondered once again what Adora had that she didn't. Catra always seemed to be clinging to that girl. And Catra had even beat up Lonnie and risked expulsion for her.

_"Would she do that for me?" _Scorpia thought to herself and then immediately pushed the thought away. _"Of course she would," _Scorpia answered herself. Catra always had her back. Adora was just a workout buddy. They probably weren't even proper friends yet. But Scorpia and Catra were _best _friends. And that meant a lot more than a gym pal in Scorpia's eyes.

She glanced at Catra and realized the girl was still looking at her expectantly. Scorpia frowned deeply and replied. "Yeah I guess that works. But why just you and Adora and not the three of us?"

"I…" Catra thought of a good way to phrase her words. "I just like spending time with her…alone. Does that make sense?"

"Not really," Scorpia trailed off slowly.

"Well you know…" Catra started. She knew she should probably tell Scorpia the truth. That's what friends did. And what Madame Razz had told her to do.

_"Man, maybe I do have a problem with this whole honesty thing," _Catra wondered as she considered how immediate her reaction to lie was. She looked at Scorpia's hurt expression and wondered what she was thinking. From her point of view it probably looked like Catra just didn't want to hang out with her for no reason.

Catra knew she should tell Scorpia. But she couldn't. Not yet.

"...Razz said that I should try to get to know her better as part of my counseling. Since she was involved in the fight or whatever. Like resolution. So I'm trying to do that, I guess," Catra winced slightly at her own words as they left her mouth.

Scorpia tilted her head to the side. "Huh. That makes sense I guess." Scorpia hadn't even thought of that and it honestly made her feel better.

Catra breathed a sigh of relief as she noticed that her friend eased up a little. But there was a gnawing sense of guilt in the back of her head that remained.

* * *

"How about we hang out this weekend?" Catra asked Adora exhaustedly as they did lunges together over the worn out exercise mats in the weights room.

Adora wasn't breathing as heavily as Catra and was able to respond easier. "I don't know I'll see. I'd have to come up with a lie for Glimmer," she said in her nervous way that Catra was all too familiar with.

"Sounds fine to me," Catra said between puffs of breath.

Adora frowned. "I don't know. It doesn't feel right. Last time we hung out nobody knew, but this time I'd have to tell a total lie to Glimmer and to my foster mom."

Catra lunged down slowly, her legs aching. She looked over at Adora and had to look away again quickly so that she wasn't caught staring. "They'll never know," Catra reasoned. "And besides I wanna hang out with you. Don't you wanna be with me?"

Catra shot a questioning gaze over at Adora. Adora looked over and saw Catra's pretty eyes staring at her and the sight threw her off balance. She tipped a little mid-lunge and almost fell over, but was able to catch herself last minute.

Catra raised her eyebrows at the sight. "Well I don't know if I should take that as a yes or a no," she said with a smirk.

Adora brushed herself off and steadied out again. "I do want to," Adora decided.

"Well then sounds good!" Catra exclaimed as she exhaled heavily and plopped down on the mat, too tired to continue.

"Well…" Adora started in objection.

"Look you don't have to lie and come and see me, but I can't promise I won't just waltz over to your place on Saturday night and start throwing rocks at your window," Catra said with a lopsided grin, hoping that she didn't look too gross covered in sweat.

Adora smiled at the thought. "I'll see what I can do. I'll text you when I figure it out." Adora stopped with her exercise as well and stood up, placing her hands on her hips and breathing steadily. Catra wondered how Adora could look so good and somehow not even tired after all those lunges.

"Well I will eagerly await your reply," Catra responded. "And, you know," Catra said slowly as she rose and stood next to Adora, "if there's any other close friends you have that would wanna come with us that'd be fine."

"Close friends?" Adora inquired.

"Yeah," Catra said casually. "You know just like any friends that aren't Bow or Glimmer that you are real, like, close with you can bring along. If you want."

"I mean, I don't have many _close_ friends," Adora replied and Catra perked up.

"You don't have like a real great best friend that isn't Bow or Glimmer?" Catra asked quickly.

"I mean not a best friend. I have some other people I'm friends with but we don't hang out outside of school."

Catra raised her hand to bite at her nails, but caught herself and lowered it. She had been trying to get some kind of an idea of who the other person Adora was into, but now Adora was saying she didn't have any close friends. Besides, Bow and Glimmer that is.

This meant that either Adora was lying, which was unlikely, or that Bow had just been misinformed for some reason.

Catra briefly wondered if Adora was secretly into Glimmer. That would make the most sense. It would be a little weird since they lived together and everything, but it was certainly possible. And that was the one person that Catra hadn't interrogated. Catra decided to shelve the theory for now.

Adora, meanwhile, was doing some theorizing of her own. She wondered if Catra was extending this invitation as a way to figure out if Adora had anybody else she was close to. Anyone who could possibly be a little more than a friend.

Adora couldn't be sure, but now that she knew what Frosta had told her she was a step ahead of Catra. Adora's initial instinct was to assure the girl that there was nobody else in her life that she was in a budding romantic relationship with.

However, Adora didn't want to lead the girl on. At the end of the day, Adora still didn't know if she could be in a relationship. It all seemed so new and sudden.

Her growing fondness for Catra was exciting and made her feel a lot of new things, but she just couldn't convince herself that it was the right move. Adora didn't feel like she could be what Catra needed. She had no idea what Catra even saw in her.

Adora decided to keep Catra guessing for a while longer. Deep inside, a part of her even enjoyed the feeling of Catra trying harder to win her over, though she would never admit it.

"Well," Catra continued. "I am more than happy to have it just be us then!"

Adora smiled at the Catra, her old t-shirt drenched in sweat and her body rising and falling with heavy breaths. "I'm happy with just us too."

_**Saucy stuff! This chapter was so dialogue heavy and I loved it. I love the interactions so much and things are only gonna heat up from here. I'm starting school again so it might be a little tougher to upload but I should still be able to hit my once a week goal. It's easy to do when I love writing it so much! And I also absolutely love hearing from you. One of the comments the other day actually had me crying! Like in a good way. So thanks for all the support and I'm glad I can share this story with you all! Have a great day!**_


	19. Chapter 19

Adora sat in her room, perfectly still on her freshly made bed. She was sitting cross-legged and her chest rose and fell slowly as she breathed deeply and in rhythm. Her eyes were closed and her face was calm and expressionless.

Her window was cracked and the morning air breezed in through the opening, wafting across Adora and slightly rustling her messy morning hair.

Adora was faintly aware of the sound of birds outside her window and the smell of waffles being made downstairs, but she tried not to focus on these things as she meditated.

She sat like that in her comfy new pajamas for another 15 minutes. It felt good to let go of everything and just kind of drift. Adora was in a good place when a loud crashing sound from the room next door startled her and instantly snapped her out of her state.

At first Adora was disgruntled, but when she heard a groan of pain from Glimmer's room she immediately jumped up and rushed over to her friend's door. She started to open the door, hesitated, and then knocked rapidly. She was instantly met with a weak and muffled, "Come in."

She opened the door quickly and scanned the room. Glimmer was lying on the floor face-down and was wrapped in her bedding.

"Oh my gosh are you okay?" Adora asked as she walked up beside the girl and knelt down next to her.

Glimmer groaned. "I fell outta bed," she grunted and Adora smiled a little at her grumpy friend, relieved that she hadn't been hurt.

"Well that's one way to wake up," Adora noted.

Glimmer groaned again and tried to get up, but she was rolled up in her blankets and after struggling for a few seconds, she gave up and returned to laying on the floor.

Adora chuckled at her useless efforts.

"Adooora, it's not funny," she whined, her face smashed into the floor. "My life is a tragedy. I'll never be able to get out of this. I will live and die in this cocoon. This prison."

"You're so dramatic," Adora said with a grin.

"No I'm _realistic_," Glimmer responded. "And on top of all this, I had a dream last night that a huge dog, like, swallowed me alive so that memory is still fresh."

"Ugh. Well that doesn't sound fun," Adora sympathized.

Glimmer sighed from her floor position. "Have you ever been swallowed by a dog, Adora? It's not good. And now I'm a floor dweller. What a morning."

Adora smiled and brushed Glimmer's tousled hair out of her face. "Well there's waffles downstairs."

"Even waffles cannot dull this pain," Glimmer said dramatically. "You will have to bring them to me and spoon feed me." Glimmer cracked a smile as she said this and Adora snorted and shook her head.

"Okay we're getting you out of this," she said decisively as she began unrolling Glimmer and extricating her from the surrounding blankets.

"Noooo!" Glimmer protested as Adora unraveled her. "This is my life now!"

Adora ignored her cries and quickly got all of the blankets off of her friend. Glimmer laid on the floor and sighed deeply.

"Alright I'm free, I guess," Glimmer said and sat up slowly. "Thanks for running in here like a first responder or something."

"Well yeah! I thought you hurt yourself!" Adora explained.

"I did," Glimmer justified as she looked herself over. "Mostly on the inside, though."

Adora chuckled. "Well you broke me out of my zen so I hope it was worth it."

"Oh you were meditating again? Cool. Has Perfuma's advice helped any?"

Adora nodded. "Definitely. I was spending a lot of time trying to force myself to calm down and it didn't work. You gotta sort of let yourself do it naturally. It's pretty cool."

"I wanna meditate with you!" Glimmer exclaimed and grasped Adora's shoulder, shaking the girl gently.

"I dunno. Could you sit still for that long?"

Glimmer pursed her lips. "Okay well maybe not."

Adora chuckled and stood up. "C'mon let's go help with breakfast."

"You always wanna help with house things," Glimmer said reluctantly, but followed Adora out of her room anyway.

"Well your mom works really hard and I just don't want her to have to do it all alone," Adora explained.

"You're, like, actually too sweet," Glimmer said with a smile as the girls walked down the steps and into the kitchen.

Angella was listening to jazz music and pouring batter into a waffle maker when she heard them come in. "Good morning girls! What was that noise earlier?"

Adora giggled and Glimmer just shook her head. "I don't wanna talk about it," she said distantly.

"Ah," Angella said with a knowing smile.

"Is there anything we can do to help, Angella?" Adora asked politely.

"You're such a sweet girl, Adora. If you could set the table that would be amazing."

Adora started to set the table. Glimmer even decided to help out. She spent most of her time folding napkins into pretty shapes, but she was still contributing.

Eventually Angella settled down with a bunch of waffles and some fresh fruit and the three ate together. It was a nice morning, if a little chilly, and the sun shone in through the windows at the back of the house and lit up the kitchen with a peaceful glow.

They ate and chatted a bit. At one point Glimmer asked Adora if she wanted to hang out with Bow after breakfast.

"Well actually," Adora said slowly. "I was planning on hanging out with Perfuma today." She recited her well-planned story.

"Oh really?" Glimmer asked, a little surprised. "Well that's cool!"

Angella nodded in agreement. "That is cool. I don't think I've met Perfuma."

Glimmer and Adora shook their heads.

"She's in my art class this year," Adora said. "And she's really nice. We were gonna meet up and go for a walk I think."

"Well then definitely do that," Glimmer said encouragingly. "But if you two get bored just hit me and Bow up and we can all hang out together like a big gang of friends."

Adora smiled. "Yeah I'll let you know. If that's okay, Angella?" She looked to her foster mother who instantly agreed.

"Yes, of course! You can hang out with friends whenever you want," Angella looked at Adora fondly.

"Thanks," Adora said appreciatively. "And thanks for breakfast!"

"Oh yeah, it's not much, but I just wanted to treat you girls. It's been a long week."

"What if I permanently dyed my hair jet black?" Glimmer asked suddenly. "Would that be cool or too much?"

"Sounds pretty awesome," Adora said.

Angella was much less receptive. "I don't know about that. What's wrong with the pink?"

Glimmer shrugged. "I love the pink, but I'd look so edgy with black hair. I could start wearing all black and, like, thick eyeliner."

Adora chuckled. "Goth Glimmer! Go for it," Adora said approvingly.

Angella shook her head. "I think Adora's a bad influence on you," she joked.

Adora feigned being insulted. "I'll have you know I'm a great role model for Glimmer! This is all her!"

"Maybe I'll just shave my head instead," Glimmer said thoughtfully.

Angella threw her hands up in defeat. "I will support your choices, but you should know that you've had a weird shaped head since you were born and I don't know if you'd want it uncovered."

Adora gawked at the remark and burst into laughter.

Glimmer frowned and pouted. "My head shape is perfectly normal."

"You…" Adora managed to say amidst her fits of laughter, "...you do have…that weird lump…"

Glimmer rubbed the back of her head self consciously. "My skull bump is a natural and healthy formation."

Angella put a hand on Glimmer's head. "You have a beautiful head sweetie."

"That's right I do!" She exclaimed as Adora continued to giggle. "I need a new family."

* * *

Catra sat waiting on a park bench for Adora to show up. She adjusted her jacket for the hundredth time and checked her reflection in the screen of her phone.

Catra wasn't used to this whole wooing thing. She had been in a few flings before, but they had just kind of happened. Catra hadn't ever really made the first move.

And she hadn't felt this self conscious and nervous around someone probably ever. She wasn't entirely sure what about Adora drew her in.

There was the obvious, of course, that Adora was incredibly cute and was definitely Catra's type. But there was also so much more to it.

Catra liked how _strong_ Adora felt. Not in a physical way, though her physical strength was also a plus, but in a more emotional way. She could tell that Adora had been through a lot. And because of it she was incredibly strong. This made Catra feel safe. And protected.

Catra scoffed at her own thoughts as she realized how cheesy they were, but it was definitely the truth.

On top of all that, she liked Adora's personality. She was sweet and gentle, especially when you were first getting to know her. And once you got under her she'll you saw that she could also be rugged and charismatic. She had so many sides to her and Catra wanted to experience every last one.

_"I'm too deep in now for it not to hurt,_" Catra realized as she thought about how Adora might not even like her, at least in the way that she wanted. She cursed herself for growing so attached and hoped that everything would work out so she wouldn't have to feel so idiotic for all of this.

Catra didn't know who the _other_ girl was, but it didn't really matter in the end. The only thing she could do was make sure that Adora at least saw her as an option. And then it would really be up to her.

Catra sighed and watched a squirrel run around in the grass in front of her. _"I even beat someone up for her. What's hotter than that?" _She questioned.

The thought reminded her of Lonnie and she quickly pushed the thought away and pulled out her phone as a distraction. She texted Adora to see if she was close. They had decided that this little park area that was a near equal walking distance from both of their homes was a good place to meet up.

Catra still didn't like that it felt like they were unofficial friends just sneaking around everywhere, but she could handle it for a while until Adora was ready to tell her friends about it. Not that it was a huge deal. Glimmer would probably freak for a few days, as she was prone to do, and then she'd begrudgingly come around.

Catra found herself thinking back on Glimmer for the first time in a while and found it curious. Honestly, in hindsight their whole continued feud seemed a little childish. It was just a grudge that neither of the girls had ever decided to call off and so it just stood between them. And it had been that way since middle school.

Catra smiled as she thought back to the times they had shared back then. It hadn't all been bad. A lot of it had been fun and exciting. If it weren't for the rough ending and the fact that they were just immature children at the time, Catra liked to think they'd still be close friends.

Regardless, Catra didn't lose that much sleep over it. She did, however, want Adora to feel comfortable being around Catra at any time. And if Catra had to put up with being around Glimmer to do that, then it was well worth it.

Catra was rifling through her thoughts like this as she felt a small tremor run through the bench she was sitting on and a loud noise from behind her. She jumped in surprise and turned with wide eyes to see Adora laughing.

"In hindsight, if I had known that you'd be that scared, I wouldn't have thrown it," Adora said joyfully as she walked up to Catra.

Catra looked down at the ground and noticed a pinecone that Adora must have thrown at the back of the bench. She shot a wry smile at Adora.

"You little punk. What if you had hit me?" Catra asked as Adora plopped down on the bench next to her.

Adora shrugged. "Bonus points."

Catra gasped and reached down, grabbing the pine cone off the ground and holding it above her head threateningly.

Adora yelped and shielded herself. "Okay I take it back!"

Catra smiled and dropped the pinecone. "I wouldn't be able to do it anyway."

Adora cackled snidely. "You're too weak!"

Catra shook her head with an amused grin. "You're in a good mood today."

"Yeah I guess I am," Adora said. Honestly, she was just excited to get to hang out with Catra again outside of school. "How're you?"

"Better now that you're here," Catra said with a smile as she leaned back on the bench.

Adora smiled and felt her chest fill up with excitement. Regardless of whether her and Catra could ever be more than friends, it felt good when Catra said things like that.

"Sooo," Adora said after a comfortable pause. "Did you wanna walk around a bit? Do you have another hidden-away beautiful spot of scenery to picnic at?"

"Fresh outta those," Catra replied. "But I figured we could just chill today. Walk a bit. And we could always head back to my place if we get tired."

"I like that. A nice, relaxing day. I need more of those."

"Well hit me up literally any time. If there's one thing I'm good at, it's avoiding my responsibilities and relaxing," Catra responded. "You wanna walk a bit?"

Adora feigned surprise. "Wow. Is Catra actually initiating a form of physical exercise right now?"

Catra rolled her eyes. "You know I may not be a hardcore gym buff like you, but I can appreciate a nice walk."

"Hardcore gym buff," Adora repeated. "I like that."

Catra smiled and stood up from the bench. Adora followed suit and the pair began to walk along a paved pathway that led around the park.

"You excited for Halloween?" Catra asked Adora as they strolled.

"Eh, I guess. Never been a huge fan of Halloween," Adora responded.

"What!?" Catra exclaimed. "Halloween is, like, the best holiday!"

Adora held her hands up in defense. "Look man, I just never got too into it."

"You're probably a huge Christmas fan then?"

"Not really," Adora said slowly.

"What? You don't like Christmas either?" Catra asked, wondering if there was one holiday that Adora did like.

"No. It was always really…sad, I guess," Adora said quietly, rubbing her arm nervously.

The knowledge that Adora was an orphan suddenly hit Catra like a punch to the face. She couldn't believe that she had briefly forgotten that. No wonder holidays hadn't been all that great for her.

"Well, hey. I promise you that I'm gonna make your holidays truly magical this year."

Adora perked up a little at that, looking over at Catra. "You don't have to do that."

"Nah too late. It's done," Catra said quickly. "No take-backs. We're gonna have a great Halloween. And a great Christmas! In fact, I will personally ensure that every holiday you have from here on out is nothing but perfect."

Adora smiled at Catra and realized that she believed the girl. Determination glowed in Catra's eyes and Adora nodded as she stared back at her motivated friend.

"That sounds nice," Adora replied with a content smile. "But don't go overboard."

"Oh I'm already way overboard. I got plans now. We're going all out," Catra said enthusiastically.

Adora laughed. "Well you really don't have to. But thanks. You're sweet."

Catra smiled to herself and began to tell Adora about fun things they could do on Halloween as they continued to walk down the trail through patches of barren trees.

After a while of walking they passed by a small pond and sat down on a bench to watch some geese.

"That one's really chubby," Catra chuckled, pointing out an especially large goose waddling by the edge of the pond.

Adora laughed and took a picture of the chubby goose. She had discovered that taking pictures was one of her favorite things about having a phone.

Catra watched Adora crop the picture and smiled endearingly at the girl from over her shoulder. "Now we can always remember chubby goose."

Adora nodded reverently. "It has been immortalized."

Catra chuckled. "We'll have to come back sometime and feed 'em. Especially that one. You wanna keep walking or what?"

"I'm kinda tired. And hungry. Maybe we could go to your place. If your dad's alright with it."

"Oh yeah," Catra said assuredly. "He loves when I meet new people."

"Alright. We can head over in a bit," Adora decided.

The two sat for a while longer, laughing at the geese. Then they finished walking the relatively short distance left on the trail before making their way down through some neighborhoods on their way to Catra's house.

As they walked, Catra told her stories about her growing up around here and the trouble she'd gotten into. She pointed out a curb that she had hit while riding a bike and sprained her ankle. There was a little hair salon they passed that Catra had used to go to when she was younger and just sit and collect clumps of people's hair and create voodoo dolls. Adora told her this was creepy and Catra realized in hindsight that it kind of was.

She pointed out the house of a classmate that she had egged one time. After she told Adora this, she paused for a moment.

"You know, come to think of it," Catra said slowly, "Glimmer egged that house with me."

Adora's jaw dropped. "You and Glimmer egged houses together!?"

"Only the one," Catra said proudly. "We were little rebels."

"I guess so," Adora said distantly as she tried and failed to picture Catra and Glimmer doing anything together, let alone egging a house. She couldn't believe they used to be friends. However, Adora could see the similarities between them if she looked hard enough.

They were both feisty and didn't take no for an answer. They were headstrong and defended their friends ferociously. Upon second thought, they were pretty similar and Adora wondered if that's why they had gotten along so well.

She thought about prying again into what had happened to make them hate each other so much, but decided against it. She had already tried asking Catra a while back in detention and it was clear that the question made her uncomfortable.

When she had asked Glimmer, she hadn't wanted to talk about it either. Adora figured whatever it was, it was pretty personal. And as curious as Adora was, she didn't want to violate their privacy. Maybe she'd just squeeze the truth out of Bow sometime.

Before long, they made it to Catra's house. Adora realized that Catra didn't live that far away from her foster home at all. It wasn't exactly close, but it was certainly within a reasonable walking distance.

Catra's home seemed pretty normal for a home and was in the same style as a lot of the homes in the neighborhood. It was relatively small and looked to be kept in good condition. There was a small garden by the front porch with a variety of things growing.

Catra noticed Adora observing it as they walked up to the front door. "That's my dad's garden. He really likes to plant things. Like squash and junk."

Catra tried the door handle and found that it was unlocked. She smiled and ushered Adora inside with a wide sweep of her arm. "Ladies first."

Adora stepped inside and looked around. From the entrance she had a good view of the living room and the kitchen and dining room. Everything was nicely kept and the atmosphere was warm and inviting.

One thing that stood out in particular to Adora was a wall of framed pictures that looked to be of Catra and her family. Catra closed the door behind them and noticed Adora walking towards the pictures.

The biggest picture on the wall was a photo of what looked to be a much younger version of Catra's dad and another woman who Adora assumed was Catra's mother. Adora had never seen Catra's mother before and found it interesting. She didn't dwell on it long, however, as her attention was quickly drawn to the small figure between the two adults.

Snuggled in between them was a young Catra that couldn't have been more than 10 years old. She was wearing a black onesie and was laughing. It looked like they couldn't get her to sit still for the picture and her outline was a little blurred.

"Oh. My. God," Adora said in awe. "You were so freaking cute."

Catra snorted and admired the picture alongside Adora. "Yeah well you shoulda seen me about a week after we took this. I tried to cut my own hair in my room with some craft scissors. I looked much less cute after that."

Adora laughed and a voice came from behind the girls. "Personally, I think she looked even cuter after the scissor incident. And trust me, I have _tons _of pictures if you wanna see that disaster."

Adora turned and saw Catra's dad with an inviting smile on his face.

Catra shook her head vehemently. "Let's skip the whole cliche where the dad shows embarrassing photos."

He chuckled warmly and shrugged. "No promises. A dad's gotta do what a dad's gotta do."

Catra visibly cringed and shook her head slowly as Gerald turned to face Adora. "Where are my manners? Welcome, Adora. It's nice to have you here."

Adora smiled and waved back. "It's nice to be over. Sorry for just barging in."

He scoffed. "Oh it's no problem at all. I do wish Catra had told me though so I could have cleaned up a little." He shot a calm look at Catra.

"I know, I'm sorry," Catra apologized quickly. "I'll let you know next time for sure."

"Ha! The old 'next time for sure' promise," he said with a grin. "Anyway, can I get you two anything?"

Adora started to say, "no thank you," but was cut off by Catra.

"We are a little hungry. We were walking around the park," Catra explained.

Gerald nodded. "Well I was about to start making some mac and cheese. Does that sound alright?"

Adora nodded. "That sounds great, thank you," she said graciously and Catra shot her dad a thumbs up.

"Yeah no problem at all," he replied and started to head off to the kitchen, still in his pajamas. "If you girls need anything let me know!"

"He's so nice," Adora whispered to Catra as he left and Catra chuckled.

"Yeah I guess," she agreed. "Here, come with me," Catra said and looped her arm around Adora's.

Adora didn't have time to question where they were going before Catra started pulling her along down the hall and through a door that led to the basement.

They walked down a few steps and Catra unhooked her arm from Adora's, gesturing to the space around them. "Welcome to my humble abode."

Adora looked around and realized that she was looking at the room equivalent of Catra herself. The space was lit by a warm yellow light coming from a standing lamp by the bed. The walls were painted a dark maroon and almost every square inch of them was covered with posters and flyers for bands. A big pride flag was spread across the ceiling above Catra's bed and Adora could see dozens and dozens of those little glow-in-the-dark stars sprinkled around the ceiling as well.

There was an acoustic and electric guitar resting on stands in the corner of the room next to a dresser with a large fish tank on top of it. Adora couldn't see any fish inside, but it was still filled with water.

Catra's bed faced a TV stand that supported a small television. An Xbox was hooked up to it and next to the stand was a mini fridge with a glass front that had a couple cans of soda in it.

The whole place smelled like somebody had recently sprayed an obscene amount of air freshener and looking around, Adora could see piles of clothes peeking out from under the bed and under the closet door.

Adora smiled, realizing that Catra must have put a genuine effort into cleaning her room in case Adora came over. She looked at Catra who was still awaiting some kind of a response from Adora.

"Okay this is a pretty awesome room," Adora said and Catra pumped her fist.

"That's right it is!" She exclaimed. "I love this place."

Adora chuckled and walked over to the fish tank, inspecting it closely. "Are the fish hiding?" She asked.

Catra sighed. "Bonnie and Clyde both passed away last month and I've been too deep in mourning to get more fish."

"Aww," Adora said and she put a reassuring hand on Catra's shoulder. "Sorry about your fish."

"It's fine. They were super old. And they died together. It was all very poetic," she said admirably.

"Rest in peace," Adora said reverently and turned her attention to the guitars in the corner. "Those are pretty. Do you play?"

"Heck yeah I do! I've gotten pretty good too," Catra enthused as she plopped down on her bed, which was tidy and well-made. She patted the space next to her and Adora took a seat there.

"You should play something!" Adora suggested excitedly.

Catra winced. "I don't know if I'm _that_ good," she replied slowly.

"Oh I'm sure you're amazing," Adora said, dismissing Catra's attempt to shoot the idea down. "C'mon just a little something?"

"Well…" Catra looked over at the guitars and then at Adora, who was staring at her hopefully. One look at that face and Catra had made up her mind. "I guess I could play a little something."

"Yesss," Adora hissed in celebration. She watched as Catra got up off the bed and walked over to the guitars.

"You like acoustic or electric more?" Catra asked.

"Acoustic," Adora responded instantly.

Catra picked up the acoustic and carried it back over to the bed. "I'm more of an electric fan myself but we can't all have great taste," Catra joked and Adora scoffed.

Catra pulled open a drawer on her nightstand and rustled around amongst its many contents before pulling out a black guitar pick and a tuner and situating the guitar on her lap.

Adora watched as Catra methodically tuned the guitar. Every few seconds, as she looked down at the strings, her hair would fall into her face and she'd absentmindedly brush it back. She held the pick in her mouth and Adora couldn't help but stare at her lips wrapped around the pick.

After she finished tuning, she looked at Adora. "What now?" She asked.

"Well play me something, of course," Adora replied. "Do you sing too?"

Catra stiffened up a little and half nodded. "I mean, I do…but, like, never in front of anyone."

Adora could see Catra was nervous and she didn't want to push the girl too hard. "Alright then you don't have to sing _this_ time. But I fully expect it in, like, a month or so."

Catra smiled goofily. "Yeah maybe then," she replied. "I could play a little tune I made up a while back. It's…uh…you know. It's nothing much. And I'm not, like, great or anyth…"

"Catra," Adora cut off her rambling. "I wanna hear it regardless. I'm sure it's great."

The two shared a look for a moment before Catra nodded and turned down to look at the guitar in her hands. She took a deep breath and began to tap her foot rhythmically to an internal beat.

Then, after a few seconds, she pressed her fingers onto the frets in a predetermined pattern and began to strum the strings in a back and forth motion.

Adora watched as Catra moved to another chord, her nimble fingers drifting quickly into another arrangement and another sound leaving the wooden mouth of the guitar.

The sound was deep and warm. Catra stayed in time with her ever-tapping foot and continued to switch between chords.

Adora had never watched or listened to somebody play a guitar in person before and she wasn't sure what she had expected, but this was much better than what she had thought.

It was beautiful. Adora wondered how much time Catra had put into it. The song sounded sad in a way, but then there were tones that kept it more uplifting.

Adora observed Catra as she played. She seemed entirely focused on what she was doing, and watching all of the intricate moves she was making with her fingers, Adora was amazed that Catra hadn't messed up. Adora looked from Catra's gliding fingers to the girl's face and saw the concentration there.

Under it all though, there was something else. And as Adora listened to the melancholy tune carry onwards, she could have sworn she saw a deep longing on Catra's face. For what, she didn't know, but it seemed to fit the song and Adora wondered what the girl was thinking about.

Catra played for a bit longer as Adora sat on the bed next to her and watched quietly, enjoying the sound and Catra's company.

Finally, Catra strummed a final chord a few times, getting quieter with each strum until eventually the song faded away. She let the silence hang for a moment and then cautiously looked up at Adora.

"Whaddya think?" She asked with a lopsided smile.

"I think it was beautiful," she answered honestly.

"I don't know if it was _beautiful _or anything, but I never messed up!" Catra said proudly, lowering the guitar into her lap.

"It sounded really nice. How did you move your fingers that fast and remember all the notes and stuff?"

"Well I just play a lot I guess. It's a good stress reliever. Calms me down, y'know?" Catra asked Adora, who nodded understandingly.

"Yeah I get that," she replied. "Do you, uh, think I could try?" Adora asked.

Catra's eyes lit up. "Of course! I'm sure you'd be so good at guitar if you practiced." Catra handed the guitar over to Adora who held it clumsily, trying to remember how Catra had positioned it.

Catra chuckled at her failed attempts and reached over. She gingerly grasped Adora's hand with her own and guided it into place. Adora's eyes were glued to Catra's hand on hers.

"Now put that other hand," Catra reached out and positioned that one as well, "right there."

Adora now held the guitar in a similar fashion to how Catra had. She experimentally pushed down on some of the strings and found that they were much thicker and resistant than she had thought.

"They kinda hurt," Adora said as she pushed them down.

"Oh yeah they do that for a while. You gotta play enough and grow calluses. Feel this," Catra held out a pointer finger.

Adora rubbed the tip of Catra's finger and was surprised to find that the skin was tough and solid. "Wow. And as a side note, you gotta stop biting your nails so low."

"I know!" Catra whined. "Don't nail shame me!"

"Alright, alright," Adora chuckled. "Now teach me a good note or something."

"One good note, coming up." Catra scooted a little closer to Adora to where she was basically looking over the girl's shoulder. Adora could feel the warmth of her and it was majorly distracting. She was genuinely surprised by how Catra was affecting her today.

"Alright put your pointer finger on the second fret, that's the little box thing, and on the second string from you," Catra explained.

Adora tried to follow, but even the simplified version that Catra was giving her seemed confusing. "Uh. Box thing…"

"Okay, here," Catra said as she reached out again. "Is it okay if I grab your hand?"

"Uh…" Adora went brain dead for a few seconds before realizing she had to answer the question, "...yes."

Catra smiled and grabbed hold of Adora's hand. Adora liked the feel of Catra's rough fingertips grazing the back of her hand. Catra grabbed Adora's pointer finger and placed it on the spot that she had been trying to point out.

Adora pressed down into the string and became acquainted with the feeling. Catra then took Adora's middle finger and gently placed it on another string. Catra withdrew her hands slowly, leaving Adora in the correct position.

"There's only two strings in this one?" Adora asked.

"Yeah I thought it'd be good to start you out with an easy chord," Catra explained. "Now keep your fingers there. Here's your pick." Catra handed her pick over to Adora who held it in her fingers how she had seen Catra doing it.

"That looks great," Catra said approvingly. "And now you just press down on the strings with the very tips of your fingers and strum down here."

Adora nodded and pressed her fingertips down onto the strings. They cut into the flesh a bit and Adora could tell why Catra had those calluses on her fingers. She made sure she was pressing them fully down and then, pick in hand, strummed at the strings.

Adora missed a couple strings with her strum, but it still produced a nice sound and Adora smiled widely. "Look at that! I'm a musical genius!" She proclaimed.

Catra chuckled at Adora's enthusiasm. "That was pretty good for your first time ever playing."

Adora continued to strum back and forth, even trying to produce a rhythm. Catra enjoyed watching her play. Adora had her eyes fixed on her hands and the tip of her tongue was sticking out of her mouth as she focused on the guitar.

Adora was starting to try out strumming individual strings when both girls heard a knock on the door at the top of the steps.

"Come in!" Catra yelled.

"I would if I could!" Catra's dad yelled back from behind the door. "Can someone get the door?"

Catra hopped up off the bed and up the small flight of steps. She opened the door and her dad was there with two bowls of mac and cheese in his hands and two cups nestled into his arms precariously.

"Oh wow," Catra said as she took the plates from his hands and walked back down the steps, her dad following.

Gerald smiled as he saw Adora with the guitar. "I thought I heard some lovely tunes from upstairs. Do you play too, Adora?"

"Oh no, I'm just learning I guess," she replied, her fingers still glued to the same spot so she wouldn't lose track of where it was. Catra sat back down on the bed next to her with the food.

"Ah well I'm sure Catra will be a great teacher. After all, I'm the one who taught her," he said with a proud smile as he placed the drinks down on the nightstand. "Is lemonade okay?"

Both girls nodded and he smiled. "Alright. You two have fun. And Adora you are free to come over anytime."

Adora thanked him and he turned to leave before turning back around. "That also goes for the whole family," he added. "You know. If Angella wants to come over with you and Glimmer we can have a little dinner and…"

"Okay nope," Catra said as she got up and began to literally push her dad up the stairs and out of the room. "We had an agreement. No talking about Angella ever again. Ew. Get out."

Adora laughed as Catra pushed her dad out of the door and shut it quickly. "That was embarrassing," she said, out of breath as she walked back to the bed and sat next to Adora.

The two sat and ate and laughed and Catra spent some more time showing Adora how to play different chords. They spent hours down there in the cozy, darkened basement, getting to know each other better and enjoying one another's company.

* * *

Adora finally got home that night after spending the whole day with Catra. Angella and Glimmer were watching a movie together on the couch when Adora walked in.

Catra had dropped her off a few houses down, per Adora's request. That way there was no chance that Glimmer would recognize Catra. It had been a wonderful night and Adora was sad that it had ended. She was already thinking of the next time her and Catra could see each other again.

Glimmer and Angella turned to see Adora taking her shoes off at the door.

"Man you and Perfuma hung out for a long time!" Glimmer exclaimed. "I didn't know you two were such good friends."

"Huh?" Adora asked before remembering her own ruse. "Oh yeah! Perfuma? Yeah we're pretty tight."

"Did you get cold, sweetie?" Angella asked. "You didn't even bring your jacket. Do you need a new one?"

"Oh no it's fine. We didn't walk much. We had a great time though!" Adora said happily as she drifted over to the couch.

Glimmer noticed Adora was in a really good mood and was happy that she was making new friends.

"What are you guys watching?" Adora asked.

"One of the Fast and the Furious movies for some reason," Angella said disappointedly.

"Hey you got to pick last time!" Glimmer exclaimed. "We had to watch your old lady movies."

Angella gasped and hit Glimmer with a pillow. "We aren't allowed to call me old! That's a rule!"

Glimmer and Adora laughed and Glimmer scooted to one side of the couch, making a little room in between them. "You wanna watch with us?"

"I would, but I'm actually really tired. I was thinking I might go to bed," Adora replied.

"You get your sleep," Angella said. "You had a long day!"

Adora nodded and said goodnight to both of them before walking upstairs. Glimmer watched Adora go and eyed her curiously as Angella resumed the movie they were watching.

Later that night, when they finished the movie, Glimmer walked upstairs quietly, trying not to wake Adora. She accidentally stepped on the creaky spot near the top of the steps and winced. She looked over to Adora's room and listened to make sure that she hadn't woken her up.

She didn't hear any movement, but she did see a faint pale blue glow from under the door. Glimmer thought Adora would have been asleep by now and wondered what she was still doing up on her phone.

Adora was acting a little strange, but it definitely wasn't a problem and as excruciatingly curious as Glimmer was, she didn't want to pry. So she just crept into her own room and fell asleep.

Next door, Adora was still up, listening to acoustic guitar music and texting Catra. When they finally said goodnight to each other, it was just past three in the morning. Adora fell asleep smiling.

_**Loved writing this chapter. It gave me heavy feels. Guitar has to be the most romantic instrument. Or like a harp or something. Anyway, I should be able to upload next week's chapter on time, but also I have a big weekend-long project next week so it might get pushed back a bit. Either way, it shouldn't be too long. As always, thanks for the support and I wish you all the best!**_


	20. Chapter 20

"Hold up. Run that by me again. Did you say that we are _required _to engage in an extracurricular activity?" Catra asked in confusion.

Principal Hope nodded. "That is correct. Madame Razz and I have talked and we think it best for you and also for your classmates, Adora and Lonnie, if you have some kind of an activity that will allow you to expand yourselves in a positive way."

Catra sighed deeply "That makes literally no sense at all. In fact I will be more 'positively expanded' if I don't have to join a club."

Principal Hope frowned. "Well you lost your right to choose that when you assaulted your fellow classmate."

Catra rolled her eyes. "Man you really don't let things go do you?"

Principal Hope stared firmly at Catra from behind her desk. The two sat alone in her office. Catra had heard Lonnie and Adora called to the office earlier as she had sat in her class and had known that she'd be up next. She had been right and now she was here talking to the principal.

"Alright fine," Catra seceded. "What do I gotta join? Chess club or something?"

"Something like that," she responded and handed a sheet over to Catra.

Catra scanned the list and saw that it was a collection of several clubs and student organizations that were offered. Catra scoffed at the thought of joining the 'Student Government' or the 'Etheria High Robotics Club'.

"If I'm gonna be honest, none of these look like they'll keep me from beating people up in the future," Catra said snarkily.

Principal Hope sighed and creased her brow. "We have already contacted your parents to see if this arrangement is alright and they all agreed. Your father said it sounded like a great idea to get you involved at school."

Catra scowled. "Traitor," she muttered under her breath. She looked at the list again and then paused.

"Wait so you said Adora and Lonnie have to do this too?" Catra asked curiously.

Principal Hope nodded affirmatively in response.

"Hmmm. Well. Do you happen to know which one Adora picked?" Catra asked innocently.

"I do," Principal Hope responded plainly. "But I think it would be best for you to choose independently of what the other girls chose."

"Uh, yeah sure," Catra said sarcastically. "I mean you don't have to tell me, but if you don't I'll just text her and find out so it's really a win either way."

Principal Hope stared at Catra for a moment before shaking her head slowly. "You are really making this difficult. If you must know, Adora chose Theatre."

"Theatre? Are we talking about the same Adora? The pretty blonde one?" Catra clarified.

"Yes. Your options are all a little narrowed due to time constraints. Usually clubs meet during free period, however you three will continue to meet with Madame Razz during this time. That only leaves the after-school activities which are listed on that sheet."

"We don't have, like, a sporty thing or, like, weightlifting club or something? Adora would love that…" Catra said as she looked at the sheet more closely.

"Not any that fit your time restraints, no. And registration for almost all Fall sports has already passed. The options we're looking at now are the Acapella Group, Jazz Band, Theatre, Public Speaking and Debate, Math League, Tennis, and Dance."

Catra confirmed this on the list she held." She didn't wanna do Tennis or something?"

"She did, actually. However, she requested not to be in the same group as Lonnie and Lonnie was the first to meet with me and she selected Tennis," the principal explained.

"Yep that'll do it," Catra said, annoyed. "Well this sucks. She hates all these other options. Theater must have just been lesser of many evils."

"I am genuinely sorry for that. Our goal was to supply you all with an enrichment activity that suited you. Due to other interferences that goal may have been complicated somewhat." She did look actually apologetic and Catra decided to let her off the hook.

"Well fine. Whatever. I choose Theater then. Do I have to act or something?"

"Not necessarily," she explained. "You could always work stage crew. Or maybe pit band? There are many options and you'd have to talk to the theatre director. But I am glad you two chose this to be honest. Our theater program has taken a few hits and there are _very_ few students who have decided to join this year. I'm sure your help will be much appreciated."

"Oh I'm sure I'll be an invaluable asset," Catra droned sarcastically.

"We can hope," Mrs. Hope responded, unamused, as she handed Catra another sheet of paper. "This is the info for the Theater Program. It meets this afternoon and you should make sure to attend and introduce yourself. I'll let your father know about the scheduling."

"It's fine, I'll let him know," Catra replied. "Is that all?"

"That's all," Principal Hope and looked disappointed as Catra quickly got up and left the office.

Catra wasn't quite sure how she felt about the situation. Primarily, she thought the whole thing was ridiculous. No extracurricular anything could keep anyone from fighting. She wondered how the school didn't understand that. And she didn't like being forced to do anything.

On the other hand, she now had an extra allotted time of the day that her and Adora could spend together. So that was a silver lining even if they had to do weird theater stuff as well. Catra wondered what exactly they'd be doing as she walked back to her class.

* * *

Adora was walking down the hall in between classes when Catra sidled up to her. "Gooooood morning, Adora. You look good today," Catra complimented her as she strolled up.

Adora smiled bashfully. She was wearing one of the outfits Bow had picked out for her at the mall. She had never really thought it was a good fit for her, but the second Catra voiced her appreciation it became Adora's favorite outfit.

"Thanks. It's good to see you. Did you get called in for…"

"For that 'student enrichment' garbage?" Catra interrupted and Adora nodded. "Yeah I did."

Adora shook her head. "They made me join theater. Theater, Catra. What am I gonna do in theater!?" Adora exclaimed.

Catra snorted. "Yeah well it's not like we had many options. It does suck though. If only you had an incredible friend who joined theater with you…" Catra said slyly and Adora turned to face her, a look of relief on her face.

"Did you really?" she asked hopefully.

Catra grinned widely, exposing her sharp canines, and nodded. "Looks like we're both theater nerds now."

Adora breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh thank goodness. I was hoping you would. Not that I'd want you to do something you wouldn't want to just to hang out with me."

Catra huffed. "Trust me. All the options were garbage. And I'd rather have the worst of them all and be with you than anything else."

Adora smiled at Catra tenderly. "Thanks Catra. I'm glad that I won't b…"

Adora was cut off by a figure who walked up quickly and grabbed Adora's hand, standing in front of her.

Adora recognized Glimmer instantly and froze up. She hadn't even thought to keep an eye out for Glimmer. Usually her and Catra didn't talk in the halls and if they did Adora was more alert. She had just been so distracted by Catra today she hadn't even noticed.

Now Glimmer was standing between her and Catra and Adora wondered if Glimmer had heard anything. Did she know they were talking? What had she seen? Adora bit her lip nervously as Glimmer stared down Catra.

Catra was surprised as well, but after a few moments she adjusted and rolled her eyes. "What's up, shortstuff?" she asked tauntingly.

Glimmer narrowed her eyes. "Look I thought maybe you learned your lesson, but you need to leave Adora alone. I'm not even kidding."

Catra laughed. "I wasn't even…" She started to defend herself, but looked behind Glimmer at Adora, who was shaking her head vigorously at her.

Catra frowned a little and felt a sadness flare up inside her. This felt like Adora directly choosing Glimmer over her. At the end of the day she was still just a dirty secret.

"Whatever," Catra said quietly. "I'll leave her alone."

Adora could tell immediately that her actions had hurt Catra and she instantly regretted it. Seeing Catra hurt was something she hadn't seen much at all and it was something she never wanted to see again.

Catra shot one more hopeful look at Adora and then a glare at Glimmer before shoving her hands into her jacket pockets and walking away.

Glimmer watched her go for a while before turning to Adora. "Hey," she said caringly. "Are you okay?"

Adora was still a little stunned by everything and she felt incredibly guilty. She just nodded blankly.

"Good," Glimmer said, looking over her shoulder to make sure Catra was still walking away. "What was she saying?"

"I don't remember," Adora said plainly, wincing at her own lie the second it left her mouth.

"Well I'm sorry she's still bugging you. I knew that whole fight thing was just a weird freak accident. I swear she's planning something," Glimmer said distrustfully.

Adora just nodded again. Glimmer worried for her friend and grabbed her arm gently. "Here I'll walk you to your next class."

"Thanks," Adora said distantly as she started to walk with Glimmer and shot a glance back behind them. Catra was long gone and Adora felt a pang of guilt in her chest. This was only heightened as she looked to her side and saw Glimmer, who she still hadn't been able to tell the truth to.

* * *

"Hey, Bow. Question," Glimmer said out of the blue. The two friends were sitting next to one another in their shared math class. There were still a few minutes before class started and Glimmer continued with what she was asking. "Do you think Adora's been acting…I dunno…weird lately?"

Bow immediately perked up at the question, his mind jumping immediately to everything Adora had told him recently about possibly being interested in someone. He also knew that Adora and Catra were getting along pretty well. Bow could already feel a little sweat accumulating on his brow. "Uh…what?" He asked quickly.

Bow knew he was a terrible liar. That's why normally he just didn't lie. However, now it seemed like everybody was confiding in him with their secrets. First Catra of all people. And then Adora.

He was afraid Glimmer would call him out on his shifty behavior, but she seemed distracted and continued.

"Like, I don't know maybe I'm crazy. She just feels a little different or something. Maybe. It's not even my business. Am I too clingy, Bow?" Glimmer asked offhandedly.

"I don't think you're too clingy," Bow said quickly. "But maybe you can be a little…overprotective?"

Glimmer frowned in response and Bow held his arms up in defense. "Look I'm just saying. You remember when you tried to get me to wear a helmet when I drove my car?"

Glimmer thought about it for a moment and nodded. "Okay I see your point. Do you think I'm too overprotective with Adora though? I just worry about her I guess. I mean she's been through a lot. And like the fight and everything. And Catra and Lonnie. Catra has really been giving me bad vibes too. What do you think she's up to?"

Bow looked overwhelmed. "That's a lot of questions," he replied helplessly, trying to avoid the topic of Catra.

"Well then just tell me what you think Catra's planning. I've been racking my mind about it."

"Uh…" Bow stalled. "...Catra. Hmmm. Can't say I...know what she'd be thinking...uh…" Bow looked around awkwardly. He floundered for a moment and was starting to panic when the bell rang, sparing him from trying to lie any more. "Oh shoot. The bell!" He laughed a little. "Oh well. We'll talk about this another time, maybe, alright?"

Glimmer stared at Bow strangely for a moment before nodding in resignation.

* * *

"Theater? That sounds like a…unique choice for you," Glimmer said cautiously to Adora, who sat next to her in their Chemistry class.

Adora groaned and buried her face in her arms on her desk. "I know. It's a disaster," Adora's muffled voice came out weakly.

Glimmer frowned and reached over, slowly rubbing Adora's back. "Hey, look it can't be that bad. You just get on a stage and say some things and people watch."

Adora held her head up out of her arms and looked at Glimmer in exasperation. "That's what I'm afraid of!"

"Yeaaahhh…" Glimmer said slowly as she looked at the ground. "What a sucky thing. I'm sick of Mrs. Hope punishing you for all that junk that Lonnie and Catra started."

Adora winced a little at the accusation of Catra, but didn't say anything. "I get why they're doing it. I just wish I could've done tennis."

"Yeah that's the worst. Of course Lonnie took the one you wanted."

"Yeah I wish I had gotten first dibs," Adora said with a sigh.

"Well hey, maybe you'll find out you have a love for the performing arts," Glimmer said encouragingly as she tried to cheer Adora up.

"Well I guess we'll find out," Adora responded.

* * *

The rest of the day went by as it usually did. Lunch was a little more lonely for Catra as she was already feeling a little upset about the whole thing with Glimmer earlier and Scorpia wasn't at school that day.

Apparently she had gotten the same flu that Rogelio had just last week. Catra sat in the farthest seat from Rogelio and hoped that she wouldn't get sick as well.

Adora sat on the other side of the room during lunch. She was with Bow and Glimmer as usual, but her mind was elsewhere. She kept glancing over at Catra, whose back was to her.

Neither of the girls had a particularly great rest of their day and by the time the last bell rang they both begrudgingly made their way towards the school's auditorium for their new 'elective.'

Bow and Glimmer wished Adora good luck before she left. They had already complained with her about it all at lunch. Adora still wasn't happy about having to participate in theater. Glimmer had sworn to march into Principal Hope's office and demand that Adora's name be cleared. Bow had just hugged her a lot.

When Adora got to the auditorium doors, she saw Catra sitting on a bench and walked up to the girl quickly.

"Catra. About earlier…I didn't…I mean it wasn't…" Adora struggled to articulate how she felt, despite having planned out her apology in advance.

Catra stood up and put a hand on Adora's shoulder. "Hey. It's alright. Like, it felt kinda crummy, but if there's one thing I understand it's not knowing how to tell people things."

Adora looked at Catra, confused. "Well…okay I guess. But I'm still really sorry. And I _am_ gonna tell her. Because you're…I'm gonna tell her."

Catra smiled supportively. "I know you will. And I still don't mean to rush you. No big deal. And I'm telling you she'll only be mad for, like, a week to ten years tops."

Adora gulped and Catra chuckled. "It won't be too bad probably. But you gotta do it at some point. And the sooner you get it over with the better."

"You're right," Adora admitted. "You're totally right. I need to just commit and do it. Rip the band-aid off."

"Right off. And then we can hang out whenever we want! I could even tolerate Glimmer's presence and we could be in the same general area."

Adora shook her head at the absurdity of the two girl's feud. "You two, I swear. Well okay. You're good then?"

"I'm good," Catra affirmed. "And in no part due to your nearly incoherent apology."

"Hey I tried," Adora said with a smile.

"You did. It was cute," Catra said and shot her a brief glance that sent Adora's mind reeling. "Now let's get in there and break a leg or whatever."

"Sounds good," Adora said, a little distracted, but following the girl nonetheless as Catra led them through the doors of the auditorium.

"Uhm…are we in the right place?" Adora asked Catra as they entered the auditorium and found that it was pitch black and seemed to be completely empty. Adora's voice echoed off the walls of the wide open space.

"Huh," Catra said, using the light from her phone to look around for a light switch, but not finding one. "I mean the sheet said it was right after school in the auditorium. Maybe they called it off today?"

"Maybe," Adora replied. "Let's go ask Princip…"

Both girls yelped suddenly in surprise as a loud clunking sound came from somewhere in the darkness above them and a spotlight powered on, shining a beam of bright white light onto the large stage ahead of the girls and illuminating two chairs sitting on centerstage.

Catra and Adora stared at the bizarre scene and then at one another and then back to the stage.

"Do we…uh...do we go to the stage?!" Catra called out into the still dark auditorium. She got no reply.

"Is this like some hazing thing?" Adora whispered to Catra concernedly. "Do theater kids haze?"

Catra shrugged. "I have no idea. But they don't seem like the type. I think we're supposed to go take a seat."

Adora sighed and whispered back. "Fine, but if they start making us chug gallons of milk or something I'm gonna bail."

Catra laughed a little and led the way to the stage. Adora tripped on something in the darkness and stumbled forward into Catra.

"Sorry," she whispered and lightly gripped Catra's arm.

Catra appreciated the feeling and the pair continued walking forward. They proceeded up the darkened ramp and made it to the stage.

Catra scanned the auditorium again, specifically up by the spotlight, but the light was blinding as she faced it and she could barely make out anything. "This is really dumb by the way," Catra called out into the auditorium and was met with no response. She sighed and quickly walked to the chairs in the middle of the stage, Adora following closely behind her.

They took their seats in the chairs and sat for a moment. Adora looked around nervously, unsure of what was supposed to happen. Catra just frowned and tapped her foot on the hardwood stage, the sound echoing around the room.

After a few moments of sitting there, Catra groaned. "Maybe it was just a…"

The loud screeching whine of microphone feedback cut off Catra and blasted throughout the auditorium.

Catra flinched a little at the sudden, piercing noise and Adora tensed up, hoping that nobody would jump out from somewhere, as she wasn't sure she could keep from reflexively punching them.

The screeching came to a halt. There was a moment of silence and then…

"Ladies and Gentlemen and _all_ the lovely people in between or otherwise," came the lilted and dramatic voice from all around the two girls on the stage. "I'd like to extend a _fabulous _welcome to the two newest members of Theater… give it up for...CARTER AND ADORA!"

The second the voice announced them, the unexpected sound of an avalanche of applause erupted from around the auditorium and dozens of multicolored lights flashed on above the girls, bathing the stage in flashing rainbow madness.

Catra and Adora winced at the sudden explosion of light and sound and looked at each other in confusion. An upbeat game show tune began to play over the speakers and the clapping sound subsided slowly.

"And without further ado, your host, the one and only, the absolutely stunning….Double Trouble!" The same voice announced this charismatically and another spotlight flipped on and illuminated a spot on the right side of the stage. Catra and Adora turned in their seats to see someone erupt from the backstage curtains in a flurry of motion.

They had a long stretch of pale blonde hair that fell down past their shoulders and slightly covered a short undercut that hugged the sides of their scalp. A wide, shining smile stretched across their face, their teeth flashing a brilliant white in the glare of the spotlight.

They waved out at the non-existent crowd and the sound of cheering blew out from the speakers once again. They blew a few kisses and did a quick twirl. Their hair whipping around and causing their flashy pink feather boa to ruffle. The boa rested over a brilliant black dress on which the collar, sleeves, and trim had been bejeweled. A big, red carnation rested on their chest and a black choker wrapped around their neck.

They bowed to the 'crowd' graciously and then locked eyes with Catra and Adora, smiling and walking over to them slowly, microphone in hand. The sound of their heels clicking against the stage as they walked.

The cheering died down and Double Trouble smiled widely as they came to a stop behind the two guests, who were entirely too overwhelmed to say anything.

"Thank you, thank you!" Double Trouble proclaimed graciously. "I'd say I don't deserve this praise, but let's be honest. I do." They laughed charmingly and the sound of a laugh track played.

"But really I'm not the star of the show tonight. Tonight we're here for Carter and Adora! It's nice to meet you both!" They said this energetically, smiling down at the two with excitement in their eyes. "How are you doing tonight?" They held their microphone down to Adora's mouth.

Adora froze up despite there not being an actual crowd watching and she stammered, eyes wide. "Uh…I'm…uh...wow…"

The laugh track played again and Double Trouble took the microphone back. "Maybe we came on a little too strong with our greeting! But it's lovely to meet you, darling." Double Trouble enthused. "And what about you?" They held the mic to Catra's face.

"I...my name is _Catra_," she said, a little dazed.

Double Trouble tilted their head to the side a bit. "Is it really?" They whispered, not through the microphone. Catra nodded and Double Trouble shrugged before bringing the microphone back up to their lips.

"Well I liked Carter better, but Catra it is!" They exclaimed and the laugh track played once again. "So I was just wondering if you both could answer the question we're all dying to know...What made you join theater!? Was it an aching urge to let your acting prowess be known far and wide? A lusting desire to add to the incredible ongoing tale that is drama? To write your names in the pages of history forever?"

They slowly lowered the microphone down between the two. There was a moment of hesitation and then Catra spoke. "Yeah we, uh, we aren't really aspiring actors or anything. Principal Hope made us take theater."

Double Trouble's face dropped immediately. "You…you mean you didn't _choose_ to join? You don't have loads of talent and an overwhelming urge to create dramatic art?"

Adora shook her head. "No we got in a fight and this is our punishment."

Double Trouble stared between the two with an extremely dissatisfied look. "Okay, cut! Stop the show!" They yelled up into the booth at the top of the back wall of the auditorium and the rainbow lights flashed off followed by the game show music.

The house lights turned on and flooded the auditorium in a warm yellow light. Catra and Adora blinked their eyes as they adjusted and saw the shape of a single person run from the glass booth at the far end of the auditorium near the ceiling over to a spotlight and shut it off. They then ran all the way over to the spotlight on the opposite side and shut that off. Finally they ran back to the booth and sat back down behind the sound and light board.

Behind Catra and Adora, Double Trouble ripped off the feather boa and threw it on the ground. "Theater as a punishment!?" They exclaimed angrily. "What kind of sick, twisted game is this? I'm gonna have words with Principal Hope. So many words!"

Catra snorted at their distress and Adora just frowned as they watched Double Trouble stomp around and try to calm down.

Double Trouble turned away from the pair and took a few deep breaths, muttering to themself, before nodding and twirling back around to face the girls. A forced smile was plastered on their face.

"I'm sorry you had to see me break character like that, girls. But I suppose the show must go on!" They said dramatically.

A voice from the booth called down to the stage. "Hey do I have to stay up here or…"

Double Trouble sighed. "You can come on down, honey!" They shouted through cupped hands and the figure up in the booth began to make their way down all the steps and to the stage.

"What a day," they said with a dismal shake of their head before turning to face the pair before them. "So. Adora. Carter...I mean, Catra. Let me get this straight. You have no interest at all in theater?"

"Nope," Catra stated bluntly and Adora just shrugged apologetically.

Double Trouble put a hand to their face and sighed. "What a mockery to a great art form."

The person who was operating all the lights and sound finally made it up to the stage, slightly out of breath, and ran up beside Double Trouble.

"That was a lot of running. Oh and switch eighteen finally gave out during that display." The girl said windedly.

"Classic switch eighteen," Double Trouble said with a sigh. "You can fix it right?"

The girl laughed loudly and twirled a length of her hair around her finger. "Can I fix it? Give me five minutes and it'll be good as new."

The girl turned and seemed to notice Catra and Adora for the first time. "Oh hello!" She said in a somewhat nasally voice as she stretched out a hand towards Adora. "I'm Entrapta! I do all the tech stuff around here. Nice to meet you! And Catra I already know you."

Adora greeted her in turn. Entrapta was a small and rather lanky girl with extremely long hair. The entirety of it was dyed a light shade of lavender and it stretched down to below her waist when it was let down. She was wearing big spectacles that dwarfed the rest of her face and she had worn out purple crocs on her feet.

Catra waved to the girl. She had grown up in the same class with Entrapta and had seen her around a lot. She hadn't known the girl was in theater, but it honestly made a lot of sense. Entrapta had been tinkering with gadgets and tech since elementary school. In fourth grade, she had rigged up her calculator to play video games. Catra recalled that they had played Tetris on that calculator one time during recess.

"And if you missed it during the presentation, I'm Double Trouble, the head of the theater club," Double Trouble explained and lowered into a small bow.

Catra and Adora greeted them as well and Double Trouble turned their attention to Entrapta. "So I don't know how much you heard from up there Traps, but apparently we're a punishment now," Double Trouble lamented as they brushed a strand of hair out of their face.

Entrapta chuckled. "That sounds pretty accurate to me. But anyway, welcome to theater!" She exclaimed to the two girls. Behind her, Double Trouble did half-hearted jazz hands.

"So…" Adora said slowly, looking around at the empty auditorium. "Are you two…all of…theater?"

"You bet your luscious golden locks we are," Double Trouble explained. "Well…Spinnerella and Netossa do costumes, but they aren't even here most of the time."

Catra raised her eyebrows and laughed amusedly. "So this is it? It's literally just a handful of people?" Entrapta and Double Trouble nodded.

"We used to have more people a long time ago. But theater has kinda…crashed in the last couple of years."

Catra smiled widely. "Well it sounds like this is gonna be the easiest elective in the world," she said happily, turning to Adora.

"Ha!" Double Trouble interrupted with a quick laugh. "No no no no no no, honey. You don't understand. Principal Hope has been casting her scornful eyes on our little theater club for a while now. With how little members we have she is hellbent on abolishing this club and destroying theater forever! Of course, I've been fighting her tooth and nail to keep the heart of theater alive!" They raised a clenched fist. "But things were looking grim. At least until now…" They held out their arms towards Adora and Catra expectantly.

Adora fidgeted and Catra shook her head. "What? You don't really expect us to save your little theater troupe, do you? We're not theater people."

Double Trouble massaged their chin meditatively. "Maybe not, maybe not. But...!" Double Trouble extended their arms dramatically and Entrapta gasped at the display. "I believe that we can _make_ you theater people! With your help, Adora, and with your help, Carter, we can…"

"Catra," Adora and Catra interrupted at the same time.

Double Trouble waved them off. "Fine, Catra. With the help of you two I believe we can put on a genuine production and possibly the best show that Etheria High has ever seen!"

Double Trouble did a twirl and stretched out their arms magnificently as Entrapta clapped and looked to Catra and Adora expectantly.

Adora looked to Catra, who shrugged in response.

"I mean I don't wanna act or whatever but I guess I could help a little. Doubt it'll save this lost cause though," Catra said begrudgingly.

"I think what she _means_ to say is that we'd love to help out," Adora explained. "At least as much as we're capable."

Entrapta and Double Trouble looked at each other excitedly and then Double Trouble rushed the pair. "Welcome to theater my sweet babies!" They exclaimed loudly as they wrapped their slender arms around the two girls. Bringing Catra and Adora close together in their grasp. Entrapta watched the group hug with a proud smile. Adora laughed nervously and Catra just grimaced at the extreme amount of physical contact.

Eventually they were released and Double Trouble looked deep in thought. "With more actors this year we'll be able to have more than just my one-person show. Which is quite a shame, I was really shining this year. But regardless, we can now put on a big production! I'm talking action! Drama! _Romance. _The full package!" Double Trouble enthused, gesticulating wildly.

Entrapta nodded rapidly. "And I can do so much more with the lights! I just have to discover a way to use two spotlights at the same time. Maybe some kind of mechanism or…hmmm…" She trailed off into her thoughts.

"Uh. Maybe I misunderstood, but did you say _actors_?" Catra asked bluntly.

Double Trouble cocked their head to one side, their flowing blonde hair twisting behind them. "But of course. I see it all over you two," they said slowly as they slunk over behind the pair and wrapped their arms around the shoulders of the girls. "Catra, you're brash. Bold. Devilishly handsome. Made for the stage! You don't take anything and you're not gonna start anytime soon. You have your soft spots though."

Catra began to object but Double Trouble continued, turning to Adora. "And you, Adora. Stunning as well." Adora blushed a little and Double Trouble nodded. "That's right, I see you. Don't be embarrassed! Be proud! Your outward strength and power is contrasted by your sweet, shy personality. But there are even more layers at play here. You've seen a lot. There's a fire burning bright in you. Truly meant to be an actor."

"I…I can't act though," Adora said dazedly, still confused by everything that was happening.

"And I _definitely_ can't," Catra chimed in.

Double Trouble shook their head. "Maybe not yet, my precious theater babies. But when I'm done with you…oh you will be incredible! Not anywhere my level of course, but definitely decent at the very least."

"What if we don't wanna? I could just sit here and do nothing and I'd still be attending the club," Catra pointed out.

Double Trouble's eyes flared a little bit beneath their otherwise charming expression and they leaned down to Catra. "Well," they said in a quiet tone, "in that case I would just have to tell Principal Hope that you two got into a little tussle backstage. She'd be furious that you two were fighting again, I imagine. Probably punish you both again. Definitely split you up and put you in different electives. Who knows what would happen?" They said this in their usual joyous tone, but it was made all the more insidious with the underlying message.

Adora's eyes widened at the not-so-subtle threat and Catra looked confused. "Wha…you can't do that!"

"Can't I?" Double Trouble asked slyly. "I think you'll find I can be very…persuasive."

"She wouldn't believe just you. It'd be me and Adora's word against yours," Catra said defiantly and Adora shot her a look that conveyed she did not want to be roped into this.

"Entrapta will back me up. Won't you Entrapta?" They called over to the girl.

She was still deep in thought and seemed to be scribbling calculations into the air with her fingers. "Yep. Definitely," she said distractedly, not actually paying attention to the question.

Double Trouble smiled proudly and turned back to Catra, who was now much less confident. The two stared at each other for a moment, their egos battling, until Catra finally broke the stare and looked down.

"Fine whatever," she muttered and Double Trouble clapped their hands together.

"Splendid! And I know you'll help me out won't you Adora?" They asked.

"Uh yeah sure," Adora said nervously, unsure if she had another option.

"Of course you will. I love your enthusiasm," they said excitedly and lightly bumped Adora with their hip. "Well then it's decided. Together we will restore this theater club to its former glory! I've got a lot of planning to do now. You two can go home early today. Me and Traps will stay and plan our next steps."

"Yep. Definitely," Entrapta repeated vacantly, upon hearing her nickname. She was staring up at the light booth intently.

"Uh...okay," Adora replied. "It was nice meeting you both."

Double Trouble smiled widely. "It was the most pleasurable of pleasures. You're both incredible. I'll see you tomorrow!" They exclaimed as Catra turned and walked away, Adora following suit.

Double Trouble watched them walk off the stage and out towards the auditorium entrance, speaking quietly to one another as they left.

Double Trouble shook their head. "What a cute little pair of lovebirds. Am I right, Entrapta?"

"Uh…..yep. Definitely," Entrapta recited mindlessly and Double Trouble smiled at their friend's distractedness.

"Alas," they continued with a sigh, "they're both so timid that they aren't getting anywhere. You can read it all over them." Double Trouble sat and leaned back in one of the chairs on stage, toying with the ruffles of their feather boa. "I wonder what would happen if someone were to give them a little…push."

_**Oooooh boy. After way too long, Double Trouble and Entrapta have finally joined the battle. Super fun to write new characters. Especially Double Trouble. The names in this fic are funny cuz it's a realistic setting and they have names like Double Trouble. Plus Catra is a thing and there are literal cats in this world. So. There's that. You really just gotta not think about it too hard. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! I got another comment this week that really hit me in the feels and made literally my whole day. So thank you all. I hope you are all doing the best you can.**_


	21. Chapter 21

Glimmer and Adora were on their way to school. It was a bitter cold morning with temperatures way below freezing. Both girls were bundled up in at least four layers that Angella had literally forced them to wear. The heat in Glimmer's car was starting to warm up, but it was still pretty cold inside the car and both girls could see the heat of their breath as they exhaled.

Adora had never really minded the cold and actually preferred it to being too hot. She knew Catra wouldn't be happy, though. That girl could be in a leather jacket in the middle of summer and still be chilly. Adora smiled fondly as she thought of Catra.

Glimmer was humming along to a song on the radio. "So," she said to Adora. "Do you think you'll be acting today?"

"Oh gosh, don't remind me," Adora said worriedly as she remembered her theater session this afternoon. Double Trouble had added them on a group chat and told Catra and Adora that they were vigorously searching for the right play to perform and told the girls to get excited.

Adora was _not_ excited.

The thought of doing anything in front of a crowd made her want to curl up in a dark corner somewhere. She didn't even dislike theater and it had always seemed kind of fun to her. But she had never seen it as something she could do. And now she was being forced to by a principal and an over-enthusiastic theater director.

Adora and Catra had texted about it a lot lately. Catra definitely wasn't a fan either. She wasn't as worried about performing so much as she just didn't want to do it. Catra had reminded her, however, that if they had to, at least they'd be doing it together. This had made Adora feel a lot better. Catra had that effect on her.

"Well it won't be much of a play if it's only you and Double Trouble," Glimmer said with a chuckle. "I doubt it'll be that bad. Plus, Bow already asked for your autograph so you clearly have fans."

Adora smiled thinly. She felt another pang of guilt. She hadn't told Glimmer or Bow that Catra was in theater with her. She just hadn't wanted to explain all of that. Even though she needed to. It was time. Past time actually. It was only making things worse and it was too stressful always having to feel guilty and sneak around.

Glimmer stopped at a red light. They were still a few minutes from the school. Glimmer adjusted all of her air vents and Adora looked at her thoughtfully. She made up her mind to tell her soon. Maybe after Halloween. That way Glimmer wouldn't be mad at her during a holiday.

Adora sighed at the thought of Glimmer being mad at her and looked out the window dejectedly. The sky was a deep, cloudy grey and the harsh wind was whipping around bare tree branches outside. Adora's attention passively drifted to a singular person walking along the sidewalk.

They had on an old worn winter coat that was too frayed to provide much protection from the cold at all. Still, they were huddled up in it as best they could and hunched over to protect their face from the cold. They looked up to view the crosswalk at the intersection and Adora was surprised to see Lonnie.

Lonnie seemed oblivious to Glimmer and Adora in the car beside her. She pushed the button signaling she needed to cross the street with an exposed hand and Adora wondered how cold it was out there.

As Lonnie looked around at the passing cars, Adora could spot the cuts still covering her face from where Catra had hit her. Adora shivered a little bit just watching her. She couldn't forget the image of Lonnie's rage-filled face coming at her with fists raised. But at the same time, Adora couldn't help but feel a kind of pity.

Glimmer looked over casually towards Adora and spotted her staring. "What are y…oohhh," she said as she realized. "Just ignore her."

Adora frowned, continuing to look out the window. "Why doesn't she take the bus or get a ride or something? It's freezing."

Glimmer shrugged. "I dunno. I think she's always walked. Serves her right in my opinion."

"Geez, Glimmer," Adora replied. "Doesn't that seem a little harsh?"

"Harsh?" Glimmer widened her eyes. "It was _harsh_ when she beat up my best friend! This is cosmic justice for being a bully."

This made Adora more upset for some reason. She watched as Lonnie tried to recede deeper into her coat to avoid a biting gust of wind. She scowled deeply as the wind beat relentlessly against her. The crosswalk light stayed a steady red.

Adora didn't really think about it or even ask Glimmer first, but before she knew it her finger was on a button and she was rolling down the car window.

"What the…" Glimmer exclaimed as Adora opened the window and a cold burst of air flooded in.

"Hey!" Adora yelled with cup hands over to Lonnie, whose head twitched a little and then looked over in her direction. "Do you want a ride?"

Lonnie recognized her instantly and surprise flashed across her face, followed by confusion as she heard what Adora had said. She stared at Adora for a brief moment and Adora thought that Lonnie would take her up on the offer, but then Lonnie looked down and turned away, her hood covering her face. The crosswalk light flicked green and she hurried away into the cold morning.

Adora watched her go with a strange feeling as she slowly rolled the window up again.

"Adora...what…" Glimmer said wondrously. "You can't just be that…nice."

The light turned green and Glimmer sped up. They passed Lonnie, still trudging along on the sidewalk, and soon she was out of sight behind them.

"She was cold," Adora said simply and Glimmer frowned.

"And that's too bad, but Adora, she's not a good person! She _hurt _you!" Glimmer's voice trembled a little as she said this and Adora turned and put a hand on her back comfortingly.

"I'm okay Glimmer. If anyone lost that fight it was her. And…I don't know. I don't forgive her. But…I don't think I should hate people either. It seems…exhausting," Adora explained.

"There's a difference between hating someone and just avoiding them and not trusting them," Glimmer said. "If someone wrongs you irreparably then you cut them out of your life."

Adora thought about this for a moment. "I guess I get that. I don't know. I just didn't want someone walking too far when it's this cold."

"She does it every day," Glimmer said assuringly. "She'll be fine. And even if she isn't, it's not your problem."

"I guess you're right," Adora said unconvincingly. She looked out the rear view mirror thoughtfully and watched as small snowflakes began to drift down from the sky.

* * *

Catra was sitting in the cafeteria waiting for her counseling meeting. Usually she spent this time with Scorpia, but the girl was still home with a cold. She had texted Catra almost nonstop while she was bedridden and had promised that she'd be all healed for Halloween the next day and that they could have a lot of fun.

But for the time being, Catra was alone and pretty bored. She looked around the cafeteria and couldn't find anybody that she knew, at least not well enough to sit with. While she was scanning the room, her eyes fell upon Bow, who was also eating breakfast alone in his usual spot.

She hadn't talked to Bow in a while. She just hadn't needed any more intel recently. But, a part of her enjoyed talking to Bow regardless of what he could offer.

Catra would never admit to this, but Bow was the sweetest person she knew and he always made her feel better than she was.

Catra quickly scanned the area to make sure Glimmer wasn't around and then made up her mind, picking up her tray and walking over to Bow.

Bow was listening to music on his headphones and humming lightly to himself when he saw Catra walk up and pull back a chair.

He took his headphones off and looked at Catra in surprise.

"You uh…you mind if I sit here?" Catra asked.

Bow nodded, still surprised that Catra would risk sitting with him in public. Bow was also worried she was here for more spy information. He had decided that he shouldn't meddle too much more with everything and that he should probably stop with the whole supplying information thing.

He wasn't sure how Catra would take that, though. Regardless, he greeted her warmly as she sat down in the chair across from him.

Catra returned the greeting. "Where's your lil friend squad?"

"Probably on their way here. They're slow some mornings. Adora says it's cuz Glimmer always hogs the bathroom," Bow explained with a smile.

Catra laughed. "Yeah she's complained to me a lot about that."

Bow raised a curious eyebrow. "It sounds like you two are getting along pretty well?"

"Yeah. Really well. At least I think so. We talk whenever we can. Which is kinda hard what with the whole…Glimmer thing," Catra replied.

Bow nodded regretfully. "Yeah. I wish you guys didn't still hate each other. Like, you've had a long time to move on and it's not like either of you even cares anymore, right?"

Catra groaned and thought about it. "Honestly, I don't care at all anymore. But it's like…you know when you hold a grudge for too long and eventually you forget why you're still mad, but it's just there anyway?"

Bow shook his head innocently and Catra scoffed.

"Well it's like that," she conveyed as best she could. "I…yeah I don't know. I kinda miss her sometimes. But also it was a big mess and we didn't really work out. I guess you wouldn't really know all of it cuz you kinda met Glimmer there at the end of it all."

"Yeah I did. And she always made it seem like you were the bad guy in all of it," he explained and Catra grimaced a little. "But now I'm sure there were bad moves on both sides. I wish Glimmer had just been less opinionated about it all."

Catra shrugged. "Makes sense. I probably would have spun it my way if you had asked me back then. Anyway it's a dumb grudge, but it still manages to get in the way of a lot."

Bow nodded. "Yeah that is a pain. But I have an idea." Catra perked up and Bow continued. "It's this crazy new thing. Real cutting edge. It's called _honesty._"

Catra rolled her eyes and slumped back in her chair. "I thought you had, like, a real idea."

"That is a real idea!" Bow exclaimed. "Adora has this problem too. If you guys would just be honest with your friends then there would be literally no drama in this entire situation."

"Good point," Catra admitted. "But that's up to Adora. I told her that I'm fine with her letting Glimmer know whenever she's comfortable. I don't wanna push her or anything."

"Aww," Bow said endearingly. "Sweet Catra is sweet."

Catra shook her head and appeared flustered. "I'm not…I…" She gave up and sighed. "It's your fault, I bet. You've infected me with your unceasing sweetness."

"Yaaaay!" Bow cheered and scooted his chair closer to Catra. "We can be sweet buddies."

"Oh my God," Catra said with a grin. "Do you even hear yourself ever?"

"Hey I'm just being my truest self," Bow said in defense. "And being nice never hurt anyone. It seems like it's working pretty well with Adora, huh?" Bow elbowed her lightly.

Catra chuckled. "Yeah I hope. I've been more…I dunno…flirty I guess. And I'm not good at it, like, at all, but I'm really trying to make sure she knows I'm interested."

Bow was fully invested now and propped his head up with his hands, elbows resting on the table. "So does she seem into you?"

"I don't really know," Catra said. "I would normally say yes, but there's still that whole thing with that other girl and I'm just not sure."

Bow furrowed his brow. "Well I think you should just ignore all those outside factors and just enjoy spending time with Adora. I bet everything will work out if you just be yourself."

"That's what I've been trying. I don't really wanna sneak around anymore. I mean you were a great spy, don't get me wrong, but I've been told I'm too dishonest and I'm trying to work on being more…upfront," Catra said slowly. She was surprised she was telling someone all this. And Bow of all people. She had just gotten used to telling him personal things and now it just felt normal.

Bow smiled widely and patted Catra on the shoulder affirmatively. "I'm proud of you," he said simply.

Catra smiled and looked up at Bow to see his eyes glistening.

"Are you crying?" Catra asked in disbelief.

"Maybe a little," Bow said with a big grin, wiping gently at his eyes. "Character growth makes me emotional."

Catra laughed. "Doesn't everything make you emotional?"

"Good point," Bow said, giggling. "But honestly I am super glad that you aren't doing the whole incognito thing anymore. I thought that's why you were coming over here."

"Yeah none of that," Catra explained. "I was just…you know…alone and you were alone and…you know we kind of…sort of…know each other and…"

As Catra awkwardly explained herself, Bow's smile grew more and more. "Catra let's just say we're friends, alright?"

Catra took a quick breath and nodded. "Yeah okay. That sounds good."

"Best friends forever!" Bow shouted as he pumped a fist into the air and Catra felt extremely embarrassed as several people looked over at them because of Bow's proclamation.

"Yeah sure, best friends for all of time or whatever just keep it chill," Catra told him quickly.

Bow agreed, but Catra could see he was still bubbling with excitement. "Do you wanna do a best friend hug?"

"Uh…" Catra looked around her. "Fine. Just a single, very short, half hug," she said begrudgingly.

Bow looked past her apprehension and excitedly gave her a quick hug before drawing away.

Catra smiled and shook her head slowly at the boy who was sitting next to her. "You know, I have a friend who I think you'd get along with very well."

* * *

Catra and Adora had made sure after the incident last time not to walk together in the halls. At least until Glimmer knew about everything. Which Adora assured Catra would be the day after Halloween.

However, there was still one spot of time in between classes when Adora knew for a fact that Glimmer would always spend going straight to her next class so she could set up her art station. Bow never came by Adora's locker during this time either so it was a good time for Adora and Catra to catch up.

They were mostly talking about theater that afternoon and what to expect, but Adora had also told Catra about Lonnie that morning and asked what she would have done.

Catra sighed at the question. "You know, I never thought I'd say it again, but I agree with Glimmer. It's not your job to help everyone. _Especially_ not her."

"Well yeah I guess," Adora said unconvincingly. "I just feel like nobody should have to walk that far when it's this cold. Do you know why she doesn't get a ride or take the bus or something?"

Catra sighed and crossed her arms. "Lonnie…geez, I don't know. Look, she has it kind of rough, I'll give her that. Her parents aren't exactly parents of the year. They also don't have a lot of money so they probably can't afford the bus fees or they just don't care. But that's totally unrelated to the fact that they're huge jerks last I saw them."

"Oh," Adora replied simply, a little stunned by the new information. She had spent a lot of her life wishing she had parents. That she was just a normal, everyday girl who was lucky enough to just have someone to take care of her and her alone.

She had seen other kids with their families and been jealous. Wondering why they had wound up with such a perfect life and she had been stuck with nobody.

But she had never really considered that some of those kids may have had parents that made their life harder rather than easier. It was still hard for Adora to fathom. That a parent could not love their child unconditionally. But it happened. Adora had seen it in some of her housemates back at the home. Some of them had been forced into the situation due to parental negligence.

Adora felt a surge of emotion as she thought back to the home and wondered if Lonnie's parents treated her as badly as some of the kid's parents at her old home.

Catra noticed Adora tear up a little and moved in instantly beside her, gingerly placing a hand on the small of her back. "Hey, are you okay?"

Adora quickly wiped the moisture from her eyes and nodded. "I'm fine, Catra. I'm just…how bad are her parents?"

Catra looked concerned. "Look it doesn't change what happened. And you still don't have to worry about any of…"

"Can you just tell me?" Adora interrupted quickly.

Catra sighed in defeat, still eyeing Adora warily to make sure she was alright. "I don't know much and it's been a long time since I've been over there. But she used to tell me about them a lot. I don't think they ever, like…you know…hit her or anything, but they yell a lot."

Speaking of it brought back memories for Catra too and she found herself getting emotional as well. She didn't show it, however, and carried on.

"She never wanted to hang out over there, that's for sure. Any chance she got to get out she'd take it. But…yeah…" Catra zoned out for a bit before shaking her head and refocusing. "Regardless, I really really really don't think any of that matters. At least not to you."

"I think it matters a lot," Adora said plainly. "But I know what I'm doing. I'm not about to go try and make friends with Lonnie."

"Good," Catra affirmed. "Everything she did was all her fa…"

"Heeeeeeeey. What's up?" Came Mermista's droning voice from behind Adora and Catra. She walked up and stared down both of them. "Uh…did I interrupt something?"

Catra and Adora looked at each other and then Adora shook her head. "No you're good. What's up?"

"Weeeell," Mermista said slowly, "I'm kinda having this Halloween party tomorrow at my place and normally I wouldn't invite losers like you two, but you're, like, literally the coolest losers I know."

"Uh...thanks?" Catra said questioningly.

"Yeah sure thing," Mermista said lazily. "It's, like, on Halloween. From, like, 9:00 until…uh...probably late."

Adora frowned. "So when you say party…"

Mermista gave Adora a look of understanding. "It won't be a _ton_ of people. And, like, my parents are home so it won't be rowdy or anything. No peer pressure or whatever like in the movies."

Adora looked relieved at this and relaxed a little bit. Catra liked the idea immediately as it gave her a portion of Halloween to spend with Adora.

"Sounds awesome," Catra said quickly. "We'll be there."

"Sweet. And it's, like, a costume thing or whatever so bring your costumes."

Adora and Catra nodded in agreement as Adora shut her locker behind her and the warning bell rang.

"Shoot I gotta get to class," Adora said, looking at the time on her phone. "Thanks for the invitation, Mermista. See you in theater, Catra!" Adora said and both girls bid her goodbye as she sped down the hall to make it to her class.

"Aaannnnd you're welcome," Mermista said proudly as soon as Adora was out of earshot.

Catra looked up at Mermista. "You…you invited us for me?"

"Well, like, for both of you, yeah. You guys are always gushing over each other right by my locker. You're, like, perfect for each other or whatever. Figured I'd give you two some time together. Maybe you can make a move finally." Mermista elbowed Catra and Catra smiled back at Mermista thankfully.

"Thanks, Mermista," Catra replied. "Are we, like, friends now or…"

Mermista snorted. "You really have been spending too much time with Bow. But yeah we're pretty tight or whatever. You're cool and I like your little swagger."

Mermista held out a fist and Catra bumped it before Mermista turned and walked away.

Catra lingered for a moment. "My little swagger?" She muttered to herself quietly. She decided to just take the compliment and grew excited for the party tomorrow as she walked off to class, the bell ringing to signify her tardiness.

* * *

Catra and Adora met up after school in front of the auditorium again and prepped to go inside.

"You ready for whatever this is gonna be?" Catra asked Adora as she stared at the double doors in front of them.

"Nope. But we don't really have a choice," Adora replied.

"Do you think Double Trouble would really get us in trouble though if we tried to switch out of this elective?" Catra asked.

"Definitely," Adora said without hesitation. "Either that or they're an even better actor than I thought."

Catra grumbled something to herself, angry that they were being strong-armed into this. "Well let's get it over with, I guess," she said as she opened the doors and ushered Adora in.

The auditorium was actually lit up this time and Catra and Adora immediately noticed Double Trouble waving at them from the stage. They were sitting amongst a circle of chairs. Next to them was Entrapta, who waved at the entering pair, and beside her were two other girls who Adora didn't recognize, but Catra knew to be Netossa and Spinnerella.

Catra and Adora walked up on stage and took a seat next to each other, filling the last two empty seats on the stage. Double Trouble clapped their hands together and rubbed them excitedly.

"Welcome back, Adora and _Catra_." They placed emphasis on Catra's name and shot a look at Catra who nodded approvingly, glad that they had finally gotten her name right. "I'd like to introduce you both to Netossa and Spinnerella."

"Nice to meet you," Netossa said with a genuine smile and Spinnerella nodded along.

"We do the costumes," Spinnerella explained. "I mean…last year we just did the one costume for Double Trouble, but this year we're glad to be able to do at least two." Netossa agreed excitedly and gripped Spinnerella's shoulder tightly.

"Yeah costumes are cool and all, but what exactly are we doing?" Catra asked.

"Well I'm glad you asked," Double Trouble said in their usual sultry voice. All eyes turned to them and they smiled widely. "Me and Entrapta stayed late, and I mean _really _late the other night plotting what our show should be. We were actually kicked out by the janitorial crew. They have no appreciation for the arts."

"They were actually really nice," Entrapta interjected and Double Trouble waved a hand dismissively and continued.

"It was no matter, however, as we had already come up with our masterpiece." They laughed ominously to themselves and looked to be filled with excitement. "Traps, if you could present the rough draft please."

Entrapta reached into a dirty looking bag and shuffled things around. It sounded like a whole lot of metal objects thrown in together. After a moment she pulled out a small packet of paper and held it up victoriously.

"Tadaa!" She exclaimed and slapped the paper down on the stage in between them all. In big bold letters the words on the first page read, 'Title Pending."

There was a moment of near silence as everyone quietly looked at the packet almost reverently. Double Trouble squealed quietly and tapped their heels on the stage rapidly.

"What is it?" Netossa asked bluntly, breaking the silence.

"Ha!" Double Trouble laughed loudly, their voice carrying across the room. "What is it not!? It's humor! Action! Tragedy! _Romance_!"

There was another bout of silence before Catra spoke up. "So did you…write this?" She asked curiously.

"That I did, sweet Catra," Double Trouble replied immediately. "I'm still cranking out the finer details, but the core story is there! And Traps has some _gorgeous _ideas for effects."

Spinnerella reached down to grab the packet and Double Trouble lightly smacked her hand away. "No no no, let me pitch it first. Let me set the scene!"

Spinnerella withdrew her hand and shook her head, smiling at the over-enthused stage director.

Netossa leaned over to Spinnerella and whispered into her ear. "I can't tell if it makes me proud or scared when DT gets this excited."

Spinnerella mouthed the word 'same' to her girlfriend and turned her attention back to Double Trouble, who was scooting their chair back a little, making space.

"So," they said dramatically, looking each person in the eye one by one. "Only one set is necessary. Which is good because we don't really have a stage crew after Asad quit."

"He will be missed," Entrapta said quickly and Double Trouble, Netossa, and Spinnerella nodded solemnly.

"But anyway. One set. The scene? An office. A grand office. An office that houses the Senator. Still working on a name, but basically she's a big name Senator who's working for the government or whatever. She is in her office tending to her normal duties when all of a sudden…bam...she hears a gunshot from the lobby, behind the closed doors to her office. Oh no. What could this mean? She immediately rushes to the door to see what's the matter, but it slams open before she can get there. Standing in the doorway is a rugged looking man. He's breathing heavily and he shuts the door behind him, locking it. He stares down the Senator and slowly holds his firearm up towards her. He tells her this is a hostage situation. He wants his demands met by the police who will soon show up outside. They'll give him what he wants and let him leave and if everything goes according to plan, she'll get to keep her life. The Senator is rightfully worried. She keeps a switchblade in her overcoat, but it's hanging on a rack behind the intruder. In the ensuing moments, the Senator makes tense dialogue with the intruder. After a while they begin to grow acquainted and the Senator asks why the man is doing all of this. The intruder looks almost…remorseful. He tells the Senator that he just needs enough money to stay afloat and leave the country. She continues to pry and they learn more about one another. She pities him and then that pity turns to…something more? Emotions fly as the demands are made and the Senator and the intruder are kept at a standstill for over twenty-four hours. The man ponders letting his hostage go, but he does not want to go to jail or be killed. The Senator remains calm and collected. She initially planned to talk her way out, but the more she got to know this man the more she felt for him. The intruder feels the same way. Call it love? A spark of something special? A modern day Romeo and Juliet. Two lovers with an impossible divide. All of the odds stacked against them. And almost certainly ending in death! What will happen!? How will the two embrace their feelings? How will the situation go down? Who will live and who will die? All of these will be answered and more in our stunning, original production put on by the newly invigorated Etheria High Theater Club!" Double Trouble was standing up at this point and breathing heavily. They wiped some sweat from their brow and looked out at the stunned faces of their comrades. "So…what do you think?"

There was a prolonged moment of silence before Spinnerella slowly began to clap. Entrapta joined in and then Netossa as well.

Adora awkwardly began to clap along because everyone else was. Catra looked at Adora as if she had lost her mind. "Hold up," Catra said, rubbing her brow. The clapping stopped and Double Trouble turned to face Catra as she continued. "What? So, like, that wasn't even too bad until the end. Like…why in the world would they fall in love? That doesn't make any sense. If someone is holding a gun to my head the last thing I'd wanna do is get to know them."

The others looked to Double Trouble to see their reaction. They simply smiled and scooted their chair closer to Catra until they were right in front of the girl. "You," they said slowly, "make a great point. In reality, the chances of this happening are near non-existent. But theater does not lie within the constricting bounds of reality. Theater is what you get when you break through those boundaries and tap into true art."

Catra didn't argue but still looked unconvinced.

"Catra. Have you ever inexplicably…fallen in love?" Double Trouble asked with a sly smile and a knowing look in their eyes.

"Uh…" Catra was caught off guard by the sudden question and stopped herself from looking to Adora immediately. "I…uh...I don't see what that has to do with anything," she answered, flustered and annoyed at being put on the spot.

Double Trouble smiled confidently. "Then that answers my question. And, as I imagined, you'll be more than perfect for your role."

"Oh yeah," Adora said quickly, half raising her hand from beside Catra and speaking up. "I was actually wondering...it didn't seem like there were too many…you know…small roles in all that. Who are Catra and I gonna play?"

Double Trouble laughed melodically and leaned back in their chair. "Well there is no such thing as a small role. And especially not for you two shooting stars. No no no. You two…" They paused for suspense. "You two will be playing the lead roles of the Senator and the intruder."

Adora felt her chest tighten as she stared at the confident stage director. Catra buried her face in her hands and groaned. Spinnerella and Netossa gasped and even Entrapta looked uncertain.

"You're crazy," Catra said, chuckling in disbelief. "There's no way we can lead the show. We haven't acted once in our lives. How are we supposed to learn how all of a sudden? And do the whole show? It's impossible."

"Yeah I gotta agree with her on this one," Netossa pointed out. "They, like, just started. And since when have you ever been one to pass up a starring role?"

"Girls, I've practically mastered the art of the stage. I could act in my sleep. But what is more rewarding than passing on my formidable talents to two young upstarts? They will be my legacy!" They shouted and stood up out of their chair, flinging it backwards.

"Not if we suck," Catra pointed out.

"Oh trust me," they said smoothly. "With my teaching, you will flourish. You both have all the raw talent. I'll just teach you how to use it."

"I would really rather not play a lead role," Adora blurted out and didn't meet Double Trouble's eyes when they turned to face her.

Double Trouble seemed to calm down a little bit and they regarded Adora calmly. They took their seat back, twirled it around, straddled it, and sat in front of Adora.

"Why not?" They asked simply.

Catra saw the nerves in Adora and desperately wanted to comfort her. She just wasn't sure how.

"Well…I don't...I don't think I can…perform in front of an audience. Or even at all," Adora answered honestly.

Double Trouble nodded and closed their eyes for a moment. "Well I won't force you to take the role. But…I would like to take a quick poll. Traps, what do you think of Adora?"

"Oh uh…" Entrapta seemed confused, but answered anyway. "She seems to be very intelligent. I've observed her in our programming class and she's one of the best programmers in there. I'd gladly take her to the booth if she didn't wanna act."

Adora blushed and Double Trouble smiled satisfyingly. "And what about you two? First impressions?" They turned to look at Spinnerella and Netossa.

"Well you seem cool, Adora," Spinnerella answered. "I like your hair and you have that cool, collected vibe."

"And you're hella jacked," Netossa threw in.

Adora smiled bashfully and Double Trouble finally turned to Catra. "And Catra…what do you think of Adora?"

Double Trouble's assumptions were proven correct as Catra turned a little red and looked off to the side.

"Well she's…" Catra paused for a moment, finding it surprisingly hard to speak. "I mean she's…" Catra stopped again and looked over to Adora who was watching her expectantly. There was a look on her face that Catra hadn't seen before and it took her by surprise. She spoke without even thinking. "She's incredible," Catra said and then instantly looked back down at the ground.

Adora felt a rush of emotions and she found that her fear was quickly overtaken by what Catra had said. Spinnerella shot Netossa a look and Netossa nodded back with a wink.

"So the results are in," Double Trouble said. "You are smart, cool, attractive, strong, and _incredible_. These people think you are all of these things and more. I won't force you to play the Senator but I'll just ask that you think on it some more. You might just find that you're talented enough to do anything you put your mind to."

"Alright. Thanks guys," she said thankfully and everyone sitting around her nodded. Adora was embarrassed by all of the attention, but she had to admit that whatever that had been had worked. She did feel a little better and she was honestly flattered that everyone thought so highly of her. Especially Catra.

"And Catra, are you alright being our slightly deranged but tragically compassionate intruder?" Double Trouble asked.

Catra shrugged. "I mean sure, I guess. But I'm confident that no amount of training can make me good at acting."

"Well we'll see about that," Double Trouble responded, raising an eyebrow. "I'm so proud of you two," they said and turned to address everyone. "I think that should do it for today, everyone. It was pretty quick, but next time we'll start getting to work. I have very rough copies for all of you if you wanna get the gist of the whole thing. The end isn't done yet, but I'm getting there." They passed out packets to everyone.

Catra leafed through the packet briefly before cramming it into her backpack. Beside her, Adora opened the packet and read the cast list, eyeing the imposingly empty spots next to each character name.

"I wanna do it," Adora said suddenly, looking up at Double Trouble, who turned around, confused. "I wanna play the part. If I don't commit to it now I'll probably chicken out and it's…it's something I think I wanna do."

Double Trouble smiled lightly as they peered down at the confident face of Adora. "Well then welcome to the stage. Everyone give a round of applause for our leading actors!"

The others began to clap and Adora smiled, looking to Catra, who nodded in affirmation. Catra was proud of her, though she still wasn't quite sure what they had gotten themselves into.

_**The magic of the theater. So I was originally just gonna do like a normal Romeo and Juliet play, but that's been done a million times and it's just lame. So I was thinking that maybe this modern twist on star crossed lovers would set a nice theme and not be boring like that old Shakespeare. Anyway. This chapter was super fun! And I'm excited for the next chapter because it's Halloweeeeeeeeeen! We'll see what these crazy kids get up to. As always, thanks for all the love and support and I hope you all are doing the best you possibly can!**_


	22. Chapter 22

By the next day, the cold had passed a little bit and now it was just moderately chilly, but otherwise a nice Fall day. The perfect weather for Halloween.

Adora, Glimmer, and Bow discussed their plans for the night during lunch. Glimmer and Bow were self proclaimed 'Halloween enthusiasts' and they were excitedly outlining all the things they were gonna do.

Adora just agreed to everything with an amused smile. "As long as it's all before 9," Adora reminded the two.

"Oh right," Glimmer remembered and then pouted. "Man. I still can't believe you got invited to an awesome party and we didn't."

Adora smiled. "I can't help it that you two are a couple of losers."

Bow laughed and Glimmer smiled wryly, wagging a finger at Adora. "Don't you end up being like a cool, jock type."

Adora shrugged. "We'll see. But really it's just cuz me and Mermista talk a lot. And I'm only going to be polite." This was only about half true, the other half of her motivation being Catra.

"I wish _I _talked with Mermista a lot," Glimmer muttered under her breath and Bow narrowed his eyes, a grin slowly forming on his face.

"What was that?" He asked tauntingly.

"None of your business," Glimmer shot back matter-of-factly.

Bow giggled cheerily. "Well I for one am glad that Adora's become a little socialite. I just wish I could be there to help her bail out of awkward conversations."

Adora nodded quickly and pointed a finger at Bow. "Yes. You are fantastic at that. I need a pocket Bow."

"Hey man, as soon as I figure out how to do that I'll let you know," Bow promised. "By the way, what costume are you gonna wear tonight?"

Adora started to answer and Glimmer shushed her quickly. "That's a _surprise, _Bow. You can see tonight."

Bow sighed. "I guess I can _try_ to wait that long. I'm sure they'll be great. Did you go all out again?"

"Oh yeah," Glimmer replied enthusiastically. "And I roped Adora into it! We've been casually working on our costumes off and on for the past few weeks," Glimmer explained.

"Yeah we just chill and craft and listen to music. It's actually pretty fun," Adora chimed in. "Even when Glimmer spills the tube of glitter and we spend hours cleaning up sparkles."

Glimmer looked down in shame. "I have repented for my sins."

Adora smiled at her goofball friend. "What about you, Bow? What's your costume?"

Bow almost answered, but caught himself and pouted his lips out snidely. "Well if you guys are gonna keep yours a secret then you don't get to know mine either."

"That's fair," Glimmer conceded.

Adora watched as Catra strolled by their table on her way over to her usual spot and shot Adora a quick smirk. Adora loved her smile and the flash of her canines from under her curled lip almost made Adora audibly gasp.

She managed to stay outwardly calm, however, and neither of her friends seemed to notice as they carried on with their plans for the night.

* * *

Catra walked over to her table and was met with the sight of her friend Scorpia, who looked up gleefully at Catra's approach and immediately stood up and hugged her tightly.

"Oh man, I feel like it's been so long!" Scorpia expressed as she squeezed Catra in her arms. "Have you gotten taller?"

Catra laughed lightly and hugged her friend back. "No I haven't gotten taller. It's literally only been like the weekend and two days."

Scorpia finally let Catra go and sat back down, patting Catra's seat beside her. Kyle and Rogelio were already seated and welcomed her as she sat. "Well that's too long," Scorpia complained.

"Oh shoot. Speaking of, am I gonna get sick from that hug?" Catra asked. "Did you just poison me with your disease?"

Scorpia laughed. "Of course not. I'm totally non-contagious by now! I'm not like _some_ people who just come to school before they're healed and get people sick." She shot Rogelio a look.

Rogelio sighed and looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"Oh you're fine, Rogelio," Scorpia reassured her friend. "I spent the first couple days in my bed cursing your name and I think I got it all out of my system. But don't you come to school all sick again!"

Rogelio nodded sheepishly and Scorpia turned her attention back to Catra.

"And I was only gone for a few days but you're apparently in theater now!" Scorpia said amusedly.

"Heh. Yeah," Catra said plainly. "I kinda hate it already, but I think Adora's gonna end up liking it or something."

At the mention of Adora, Kyle perked up a little. He didn't say anything, but he listened more intently.

"Oh you didn't tell me Adora was in there with you. That's cool. How is she?" Scorpia asked honestly. She had nothing against Adora and had spent a lot of time thinking about it while she was bedridden. She came to the conclusion that Catra being friends with more people was a great thing. And if Scorpia was ever going to be her girlfriend she needed to support that fully. Plus Scorpia liked Adora and that there was someone else she could talk to about gym stuff.

"Yeah she's in there. We both had to. Cuz of the whole...y'know…" Catra mimed some little punches in the air.

"Right, right," Scorpia acknowledged. "Well hey I was thinking of joining another extracurricular anyway. Maybe I could join theater and then we could all three hang out like when we were gym buddies!"

Catra grunted a little bit suddenly like she had stubbed her toe on something. "That…that does sound fun," Catra replied, forcing a smile. "But…they already kinda assigned the roles so I'm not sure they could fit you in."

Scorpia nodded to herself thoughtfully. "Oh that's a good point. Maybe I could do like stage stuff! Like props and stuff or set design? That could be fun!"

"Uh," Catra said slowly. "Yeah I mean…I'm not sure they'd need it or whatever. They might be at capacity. Who knows? I'll ask tonight."

"Awesome. Thanks, Cat," Scorpia replied graciously. "And I got nothing to do so I figured I'd just chill in the auditorium and watch rehearsal. Maybe it'll help me figure out where I'd fit in, y'know?"

"Ah. Great idea," Catra said, straining to keep from showing any outward signs of distress.

"Right?!" Scorpia said and laughed heartily. "Yeah I'm pretty excited. And then tonight we can hang out and do Halloween things! I'm thinking right after you're done with theater we all meet up. Kyle and Rogelio said they're bringing like seven different snacks or something."

Rogelio shook his head and laughed lightly.

"We said we're bringing a seven layer _dip_. Seven layers. Of dip," Kyle clarified.

"Oooh," Scorpia realized. "Well Catra and I can pick up a buncha chips or something on the way back to my place. It'll be great!"

"Yeah that'll be pretty fun," Catra agreed. "And oh shoot. You know what? I totally forgot to tell you guys, but I'm going to Mermista's Halloween party tonight at 9 so I'm gonna have to bail after a while."

"Wh…" Scorpia stuttered. "You're friends with Mermista?"

Catra shrugged. "She says we're 'pretty tight or whatever.'"

"Oh…" Scorpia said and it grew quiet at the table for a moment. "I didn't even know you guys talked. That's cool though." Scorpia began to wonder how many people Catra was friends with now. She fought the feeling that she was replaceable and just clapped Catra on the back.

"Well we'll just make sure we have a great time before 9," she said enthusiastically. "Eating our overly layered dip and watching a scary movie or something."

Kyle nodded happily, shooting Scorpia a warm smile. He then observed Catra. She seemed a little distant. Her hesitation when Scorpia had shown interest in theater hadn't been lost on Kyle. He wasn't exactly sure what was going on with Catra, but he knew it wouldn't be good for Scorpia.

* * *

"Alright my theater babies! Class. Is. In. Session!" Double Trouble exclaimed, clapping their hands together with each word.

Adora and Catra stood awkwardly on the stage, facing the eager Double Trouble.

"Okay. First off. You can't be nervous on the stage. The stage is your friend. And in some cases your lover. You can't just be scared of it! Love it! Be empowered by it! You have to live for being on this stage!"

Double Trouble took in the confused looks on their pupils' faces and sighed. "Okay I'll try and explain that again. Basically we just want to get rid of the fear. Easier said than done, I know. But this stage will become a comfortable place for you, trust me. As long as you're up here, you're safe. And you're admired. People are literally and figuratively looking up to you. Whether it's a packed house or the lovely Scorpia." They gestured out to the seats of the auditorium and Scorpia clapped and waved from her front row seat.

"So you should both be confident. You're gorgeous. You're young. Everyone's jealous. People wish they could be you two. So act like it. Be confident in that. You two think on that when you're out of here and let it sink in. For now we're just gonna do the best thing you can do to remove stress."

"Run from our problems," Catra answered sarcastically.

"Haha! No," they replied quickly. "Breathing! We are gonna do some deep breathing exercises. Sit down."

All three of them sat down on the stage cross-legged.

"And you're sure you don't wanna join us, Scorpia?" Double Trouble called down from the stage. "If, and when, you end up deciding to join the team these skills will come in handy!"

"Oh, no thanks I'm good! I'm just watching for now!" Scorpia called out from her spot.

Double Trouble nodded and turned back to Catra and Adora. "Now we're gonna just close our eyes and breathe. I'll show you both the proper breathing technique." They guided both girls through the process and watched to make sure they were doing alright before they all took some time to breathe calmly.

After a few minutes of this quiet breathing, they told the girls to stop. "That should be enough for now. Adora you did _very _well. I could feel the zen dripping off of you."

Adora smiled bashfully. "I've been meditating a lot lately. That's probably why."

"Well you did amazing. Catra…you did…less amazing," Double Trouble explained delicately.

"What?" Catra responded hastily. "I did all the breathing and stuff."

"True. But I saw you peek your eyes open like five times. You have to really settle in and let go of everything."

"Seven. I peeked seven times. And how am I supposed to let go of something by breathing?" Catra asked.

"Perfuma says meditating is like a workout for your mind," Adora explained to Catra. "You slowly train it to be able to calm down in tense situations and stuff. It's pretty cool."

"Well…that is cool. I guess I want my brain to have muscles," Catra pondered aloud.

"And flexing those brain muscles can get your mind off of stage fright," Double Trouble added. "Now, let's shift gears. Before you can play a character, you must _understand_ the character. You must flesh out every last detail of their lives and absorb them. You've both read the rough drafts of your scripts?"

Adora nodded and Catra wiggled her hand side to side.

"I may have skimmed a little," she replied honestly.

"That's alright, I figured you would," Double Trouble remarked passively. "Firstly, I was wondering if both of you are alright playing these characters. I want you to know I'm flexible here if you want to change anything. Especially you, Catra."

"Huh? Why me?"

"Well I originally wrote your character as a male and pitched it as such, as per my inspiration of Romeo and Juliet. But I never asked if you were comfortable with that. I assure you, I didn't intend to underrepresent the lesbian community by giving you a male character to play instead of a female one. And if you'd like we can easily change that! What would you prefer?"

"Oh. Uh," Catra said as she thought about it briefly. "I mean, lesbians are cool. Uh. But also...I dunno, I was kinda...alright with playing a guy? It seems kinda fun...and I really want the makeup team to give me, like, beard stubble. Also...real lesbians wouldn't be dumb enough to fall in love during a hostage situation."

"Your words ring true," Double Trouble said dramatically. "Alright, then we'll keep our armed intruder as a male. But if at any point you change your mind, let me know. We'll keep it fluid. I find that's the best way to experience gender." Double Trouble winked and Catra and Adora smiled. "And you, Adora? Any qualms?"

"No I think I'm fine," Adora answered before remembering something. "Oh, but I was wondering...how, uh, romantic is this getting?"

A gleam flashed in Double Trouble's eyes and they smiled. "Well I haven't finished the script yet, so who's to say? But I respect both of your boundaries. I understand you probably wouldn't want to have to be too intimate with each other."

"Well," Adora interrupted quickly. "I didn't mean... like...it's whatever you want." She looked away nervously.

"Yeah we're...comfortable with anything," Catra voiced, also looking a little embarrassed. "The show must go on and all that."

Double Trouble was happy that their assumptions were now glaringly obvious. These two were painfully in love with one another. "Well that's good to hear! I'll finish writing it eventually. And until then just let me know if you want to change anything. You're both geniuses after all. Anyway, with that out of the way, I have a quick exercise planned. We'll start with Adorbs over here."

Adora smiled at the nickname. "What do I do?"

"Well I'm gonna ask you questions about your character and you're gonna answer them. Just improvise them, but make sure they really fit your mental image of who your character is. Does that sound alright, honey?"

Adora nodded affirmatively and Double Trouble began their questions.

"What do you think the Senator's name should be?" They asked quickly.

Adora thought about the question for a bit. "Any name?"

"Not just any name. _Her_ name."

Adora thought a bit longer before answering. "I guess she feels like a…Harriet?"

"Harriet…" Double Trouble whispered. "I like it. Last name?"

"Uh…Richardson?"

"Harriet Richardson…" They rubbed their hands together excitedly. "Where'd they go to school?"

"Uh…an ivy league school. Like Yale or something," Adora said quickly.

Double Trouble motioned for Adora to go on.

"Uh…she originally was going to major in…Computer Science. But she found a passion for political science in her…junior year."

Double Trouble made the same motion again and Adora continued. "I think she did really well in her classes. Except for her required fine arts class. She's not very creative. But she makes up for it in intelligence and wit. Her passion got her through school. She ran for local government two years after she became old enough. She lost her first run, but won her second. She held that position for another two terms before running for the Senate, which she also won on her second run."

Double Trouble cut in quickly. "What does she wear to the office?"

"Suit. A black suit. Red tie. And, um, old black loafers that are falling apart but she holds onto them because she won her first election in those shoes and she's a bit of a low key hoarder I think."

Double Trouble smiled as Adora came to a stop and they began to clap. Catra was staring at Adora, visibly impressed that she had made that up on the spot. Scorpia whooped from her seat.

"Beautiful job," Double Trouble congrulated her. "You're breathing life right into Senator Harriet Richardson. Keep fleshing her out. I think you'll be perfect for the role."

Adora smiled and for the first time, actually felt excited to play the role she was assigned.

Double Trouble turned to Catra. "Are you ready for your go?"

"No," Catra responded honestly.

"Alright here we go! What do you think your character's name is?"

"Uhhhhhh," Catra squinted her eyes together in deep thought. "Greg? Like Gregory. I'm getting strong Greg vibes. Or Clancy. Greg Clancy? Is that anything? Is that a real name?" Catra stumbled around the question.

"Moving on," Double Trouble continued. "What's their favorite food?"

"Oh, easy…um…probably, like, those little freezer pops. Or peanut butter maybe."

"Does he cook at all?"

"No...er...yes. He cooks…eggs sometimes. To eat. And I guess for...Easter."

"Is he a religious man?"

"I don't kn…er...yep. Yep he was. He was raised, like, Jewish, but he noped out of that when he was sixteen. No. Fifteen. And a half."

"How was his family life?"

"It was very…uh...normal? His parents were fine to him. Normal upbringing. Very…normal."

"What does he look like?"

"Uh well he's got…hair...that is…dark brown. And he looks a lot like me, obviously. But he wears a beanie all the time I'd say. And he likes black. Black leather. Yeah. Like this jacket I have on. Just like that. And then also black jeans. Also like the ones I have on. And uh…shoes…he wears...probably like a nice croc or something?"

Double Trouble cringed at the word croc and motioned for Catra to stop. "I loved a lot of that, actually. But I'm gonna pull rank and nix the crocs. The only one allowed to bring crocs on this stage is Entrapta, bless her soul." Double Trouble patted Catra on the shoulder. "You did good! It was a little choppy, but you know what? I think the character himself is a little choppy. And I think you really got into that mindset! Good job." They clapped for Catra and she smiled proudly.

Adora gave her a congratulating smile and patted her on the back. From her seat, Scorpia cheered even louder than before, clapping vigorously.

Double Trouble whistled a little tune and then smiled widely. "I'm very proud of my little stage babies. And now I want you two to talk to each other about your characters. Flesh them out together. That'll add a connection. A tether between them that will blossom with time. I'm gonna go sit in the audience and figure out where I want set pieces to go while you two do that. Sound good?"

Catra and Adora nodded, eager for the chance to talk to one another and relieved that they didn't have to do any acting yet.

Double Trouble spun around and walked off the stage. They went to the first row of center stage and approached Scorpia's spot. "Is this seat taken?" They asked, pointing to the seat next to Scorpia and sitting down.

"Uh...no...well actually…I guess it is now. Cuz you're in it," Scorpia said with a delighted chuckle.

Double Trouble laughed lightly. "You're freaking adorable," they said with a contented sigh as they took out a notepad and flipped to an empty page.

"Aw. Well thanks," Scorpia said bashfully. "And you're a really good teacher! You were all like 'get inside the head of the character' and 'open your mind's eye.'"

"Well I'm not sure I said that last bit, but the compliment is taken regardless," Double Trouble said smoothly. "I do so hope you decide to join us. You'd be an invaluable member of the team. We could give you a spot anywhere. If you want to act we'll make a role for you. It's that easy."

"Well that's really nice," Scorpia said thoughtfully. "I think I might, actually. It seems really cool. I wouldn't be able to be here every afternoon because of football practice, but I could do most."

"That sounds absolutely perfect," they responded immediately. "You just let me know the second you're ready to join our little family and you're in."

Scorpia scratched the back of her head and smiled widely. "Gee. Thanks."

"Of course," they responded dismissively. They looked up to the stage where Catra and Adora were seated, talking to one another. "They're friends of yours it seems?"

"Oh yeah," Scorpia said quickly. "I mean Catra's my best best friend ever of all time, but Adora is definitely my friend too."

"That's good. Friendship is a beautiful thing. What do you think of them then? You think they're a good match?" They smiled passively, watching the pair onstage.

"Oh," Scorpia said, confused. "I think they're gonna be good onstage for sure."

Double Trouble laughed. "No not that. Though that's true. I meant do you think they'll make a cute couple? You know them both pretty well. You think they have what it takes?"

Scorpia frowned and shook her head. "Oh no. I mean…Catra isn't...into Adora. They're just friends."

"Welllll," Double Trouble said slowly. "Maybe we'll have to agree to disagree, sweetie. I've seen young love and that's it. Disgusting in a sweet way."

"Young love?" Scorpia asked quietly, her eyes drifting over to Catra and Adora.

"Oh definitely. I can't believe you can't see it. The tension is so thick you could cut it up into little pieces! It's part of the reason I put them in the roles that I did."

Scorpia barely heard what Double Trouble was saying. Their words sounded distant. Instead she focused on Catra and Adora. The way Catra's eyes seemed glued to Adora. And then the second Adora would look up at her, she'd avert her gaze quickly. She noticed Adora smiling a lot and laughing at everything Catra said. She noticed their hands pressed onto the stage. So close together that they were almost touching.

Scorpia felt a surge of emotion as she started to connect things in her own mind. Catra wanting to be alone with Adora in weights class. Her funny moods. Intervening in the fight. Her mentioning that she wanted to ask someone to the dance this year.

It wasn't her.

It was Adora.

Scorpia felt tears well up in her eyes as her brain seemed to flit about wildly, unable to find a steady place to land. She cupped a hand to her mouth and stood up quickly, walking away.

Double Trouble noticed her movement and looked up from their notepad. "Oh are you leav…" They stopped as they caught a glimpse of the tears streaking down the girls face as she sped away without responding and left through the main entrance to the auditorium.

"What the…did I…?" Double Trouble muttered to themselves quietly. They looked to where Scorpia had left again and then looked up to the stage, at Catra specifically. "Oh…" They said with a gasp as it all clicked. "Oh no…she didn't know...and she was…."

Double Trouble bit their tongue, cursing themselves mentally for being such a harbinger of drama before sighing deeply.

"Oh well," they said simply and went back to sketching in their notepad.

* * *

When theater practice ended, Double Trouble congratulated both girls on their efforts.

Catra scanned the auditorium and suddenly remembered that she hadn't seen Scorpia in a while.

"Hey did you see where Scorpia went?" Catra asked Double Trouble, craning her neck around to look for the girl.

Double Trouble briefly considered being honest, but decided against it. "You know, I'm not sure. She just kinda left. Probably late for something. Who knows?"

Catra pursed her lips. "I guess...huh." Catra wrestled her phone out of her pocket and called Scorpia. Adora collected their backpacks and carried them over as Catra listened to the phone ring and got no answer.

"What's up?" Adora asked as Catra sighed and crammed her phone back into her pocket.

"Well Scorpia bailed I guess and she was my ride."

"Can your dad drive you?" Adora asked.

"Nah, he's still working."

"Well...Bow is picking me up and...I don't know if that'd be the best way to break the news that we're friends," Adora said worriedly.

Catra was confused, before she realized that Adora wasn't aware that her and Bow were already well acquainted. That wasn't a situation Catra wanted right now so she agreed.

"Well I can drive you home, honey," Double Trouble insisted, feeling a little guilty for what had happened with Scorpia. "I'll just shut everything down in here real quick. You can just wait for me by the front doors and I'll be out in a second."

"Thanks," Catra replied. Adora could tell that Catra was still wondering where Scorpia had gone.

Adora and Catra grabbed their things and walked out of the auditorium together.

"Man, I want a car," Catra grumbled as they walked down the empty school hall.

"Yeah it sure would be convenient. I hate making people pick me up all the time."

"Ugh, same. But anyway," Catra said, poking at Adora's arm. "You excited for the party tonight?"

"A little nervous, but for the most part I'm…excited I think," Adora answered unconfidently.

"Hmmm," Catra regarded the girl carefully. "What are you nervous about?"

"Well, you know," Adora shrugged a little. "Parties and, like, lots of people. All loud and in one unfamiliar place. Not exactly my ideal situation."

"I get you. It does seem like something you'd normally avoid," Catra said thoughtfully. "Let's just skip it then. We can hang out just you and me."

"You'd skip out on it just for me?"

"Of course!" Catra replied eagerly. "It's not like I'd even wanna go if you weren't there."

Adora smiled, but shook her head. "Well thanks. But I do wanna go. It's just one of those things you gotta force yourself to do and hopefully end up enjoying. You know?"

"Uhhh…not entirely. But I know it makes you uncomfortable so if at _any_ point you wanna leave, you just let me know, okay?"

"Deal," Adora said confidently. "I'm just glad you're going."

"Me too! I'll be right by your side the whole time," Catra assured Adora. "Promise."

"You're too great," Adora said with a grin.

"Guilty as charged."

The pair approached the front doors of the school and looked out. Adora spotted Bow's car in the pick up lane.

"Well that's me. You fine waiting here for Double Trouble?" Adora asked.

Catra looked back over her shoulder. "Yeah I'll be fine. You go have fun with your friends. And I'll pick you up tonight and we'll have a great time."

"Alright," Adora said excitedly. She looked out to the car again and then back at Catra. "Okay, well. I'll see you then." Adora stalled for a bit, taking a step forward and then backward again before awkwardly patting Catra's shoulder and heading out the doors.

_"Should I have hugged her? I wanted to. Would that be weird? Why am I so awkward?" _Adora wondered these things to herself as she quickly walked to Bow's car.

She opened the passenger door and hopped in. "Hey, B…" Adora froze as she realized what Bow was wearing. "Wow."

"Whaddya think?" Bow asked as he gestured at himself. Adora hadn't played a lot of video games in her life, but she knew Lara Croft when she saw her.

Bow was wearing a purposefully dirtied, tight-fitting, blue tanktop on that exposed his midriff, which Adora had come to expect from most of his wardrobe. He had really short cargo shorts that showed off his shaved legs and there was what looked to be a gun belt around his hips that held two pistols in holsters. He had black combat boots and he had put some dark warpaint streaks under his eyes.

"You look awesome," Adora answered honestly, admiring her friend's costume. "Are you a Tomb Raider fan?"

Bow laughed. "I've never played any of them. I just like the costume and Lara Croft is a beast."

"Well you did a great job!" Adora assured him, shutting the car door behind her.

"I'm glad you think so," Bow said with a grin, as he began to drive away. "My parents weren't as big of fans."

"Oh yeah?" Adora asked curiously. "Why not?"

Bow smiled wryly. "You know, the same old stuff. 'Oh son, why do you always wear such revealing clothes? You're gonna be cold, put on a jacket. What do you mean Lara Croft doesn't wear a jacket?'"

Adora chuckled. "Well it looks like they didn't get their way."

"They sure think they did," Bow said proudly as he pointed to a discarded jacket in the back seat.

* * *

Bow and Adora arrived at their destination before long and pulled up to the curb outside the house. Angella still wasn't home, but she would be before too long.

The friends got out of the car and Adora complimented Bow's outfit again, now that she could see him standing up. Bow absorbed the praise and seemed to be loving the positive feedback.

Bow was just showing off his water gun pistols when they walked in the unlocked front door.

"Is the orange tip big enough do you think? I don't know. I hate guns, but I had to bring the ensemble together, y'know?"

"The orange tip is definitely big enough," Adora insisted, calming her friend a little. "Anyone would be able to tell they're fake."

"Okay good," Bow said in relief as he looked around and Adora kicked her shoes off by the door. "Where's Glimmer?"

Adora listened for the girl but didn't hear anything. She poked her head into the kitchen and didn't see her there. "She's probably in her room. Let's go grab her."

Bow and Adora rushed up the stairs and saw that Glimmer's door was cracked open slightly and it was dark inside. Adora could hear the faint whirring of Glimmer's box fan from inside.

"Ah, she must be sleeping," Adora realized. "She was whining about getting bad sleep when we were getting ready this morning."

"Aw, poor Glimmer. Poor, sleepy Glimmer," Bow said.

Adora and Bow crept up to the door and peeked through. They were able to make out the Glimmer sized lump on her bed.

"Well we should probably wake her up. She wouldn't wanna miss Halloween," Adora pointed out.

"True. Glim's so cute when she sleeps. Have you heard her talk in her sleep yet?"

Adora snickered, turning to face her friend. "No I haven't. She does that?"

Bow nodded. "Oh yeah she says weird stuff. Real weird stuff. Once at a sleepover she was dead asleep and muttered something about vegetables and then said in the clearest voice, 'I'm not here for you. You are nothing'."

"Oh my gosh." Adora looked back at the sleeping shape of her foster sister. "Well I will be sure to listen in sometime. C'mon."

Adora quietly squeezed through the door and Bow followed suit. They made their way through the darkened room to the bed, dodging the various items that littered Glimmer's floor. They managed to make it to her without tripping on anything and Adora gently whispered Glimmer's name as Bow poked at her.

After poking her, Bow drew his hand back quickly and looked confused. "Wait a min…"

"_BWAAAAAAAAAA_!" A loud voice shouted behind Bow and Adora and both of them felt a hand quickly grab them from behind.

Bow screamed loudly in a high pitch and Adora turned around, flailing wildly with her arms. She narrowly avoided hitting the figure behind them, who took off a scary mask and revealed the face of a very satisfied looking Glimmer.

Adora stopped swinging and buried her face in her hands. Bow had backed into the bed in his panic and had fallen onto it. When he saw Glimmer he gasped.

"Glimmer! I could have had a heart attack!" Bow exclaimed, still breathing heavily from the shock.

"And I almost punched you in the face!" Adora added.

Glimmer giggled profusely at this and doubled over. Adora shook her head in disbelief.

"Happy Halloween," Glimmer said with a content sigh, wiping a tear from her eye.

"That was...well done," Adora said begrudgingly.

"I know," Glimmer replied confidently.

"Well I, for one, hated it," Bow said, getting up from the bed slowly.

"Are you...are you Lara Croft?" Glimmer asked, squinting in the dark room.

"You got it. Except I'm a very easily scared version of Lara Croft," Bow explained.

"I could tell," Glimmer said with a devilish grin. Bow muttered something under his breath and Glimmer chuckled before turning on her bedside lamp and lighting up the room a little bit. "Yeah that's a quality costume. You look awesome. And those shorts on you!"

"Oh I know," Bow said with a grin, striking a pose. "When do I get to see your costumes?"

Adora and Glimmer looked at each other and nodded slightly.

"Bow you head downstairs and relax and we'll get changed," Glimmer told her friend.

Bow squealed in excitement and hurried out of the room and down the stairs.

"Glimmer it's gonna take you so long to do everything," Adora said as she opened Glimmer's closet and pulled out her costume.

"I know. But it's worth it!" Glimmer exclaimed and ran off to the bathroom. Adora shook her head and got ready.

* * *

Bow was watching a competitive cooking show on TV when he heard Adora behind him.

"Uh...I'm ready I guess."

Bow turned around rapidly and gasped. "Oh. My. God."

Adora smiled nervously and shuffled in place a little bit. Her reserved composure extremely contrasted her look. She looked like a barbarian straight out of a fantasy movie. She wore what looked like a thick, dark brown, leather jerkin. There were no sleeves and it left her muscled arms exposed. Patches of dark grey fur that looked like it came from a wolf lined the top of her shoulders. Several dark leather straps hung at her waist and what looked like a long tattered piece of fabric dropped from her waist to her knees in what looked like an extra long loincloth. The garment concealed dark leggings and at her feet there looked to be tall fur lined boots. Adora had an earring on that looked to be a long raven feather that dropped from one ear. On her face, Adora had a streak of crimson war paint that looked like dried blood stretching in a bar from one side of her face to the other and overlapping her eyes. And most noticeably, she gripped a huge shining longsword in one hand and it lingered menacingly by her side.

"Adora...You've outdone yourself," Bow said in awe. "I mean, really. Jesus. You look like you're gonna cut my head off and drink out of my skull."

Adora laughed, her initial nervousness fading a little bit. "That is what I was going for."

"Are you like a viking or a barbarian or something?"

"Something like that. I just told Glimmer I wanted to be strong and cool and she came up with this."

"Is that real fur? Did you skin a wolf or something?"

"Nah the only thing we skinned was some old fluffy pillows that Angella had in storage."

"Wow. Expert level. And is that the sword Glimmer got from the Renaissance Fair?"

"Yup. It's a good thing Glimmer had a literal sword laying around. Really ties it all together."

"Well you look amazing. And hey," Bow patted the spot on the couch next to him and Adora came and sat down. "Don't stress about tonight or how you look."

Adora chuckled grimly. "You noticed?"

"Yeah. But I can also tell you're excited. And there's no way you aren't in love with this costume."

"I really am," Adora admitted helplessly.

"Exactly. So be confident. You look fantastic! Own it. And your party will be great. You'll have Mermista there so you'll be more at ease."

"You're right. And also there's...you know...that one person there I told you about. I'm actually more nervous about them than I thought I'd be."

"Ohhhhh I see. Well does that make things better or worse?"

"Better. Much better. But worse. In a way. Ugh," Adora ran a hand through her hair. She seemed to remember something as she did this and turned to Bow. "Can you give me, like, a cool Nordic braid situation?"

"I would be _honored_," Bow answered immediately as he scooted up behind Adora and began to part her hair. "What about them makes it worse?"

Adora sighed. "I don't know, Bow. I mean they're great. Beyond great. But maybe...too great? It's just that it used to be easier to be around h...them, but now…I don't know, I feel really nervous and self conscious. And I think sh..._they're _interested in me and that makes me feel really good but I don't know what to do! What if I'm not good at the whole relationship thing? What if it doesn't work out and then our friendship gets weird because of it? I also don't know what she…agh!"

Adora's grip tightened on her sword and Bow quickly moved his hands from her hair to her shoulders and began to lightly squeeze. If there was one thing he had learned about Adora it was that she loved a good massage.

"You know, you kinda do this thing where you store up all your stress and junk and then it just builds and builds until you blow up," Bow told his friend, who nodded in agreement.

"You're right. Sorry, I've just been thinking about it a lot."

"It sounds like you've been _stressing_ about it a lot. And that doesn't help at all. Adora...I don't know much about the situation, but I know that you are a fantastic person. You're funny and cute and sweet and uber smart in like a million ways."

"Bow…"

"No really, I mean it," Bow said, stopping Adora from disagreeing. "Anyone would be lucky to have you. Plus there's no 'right' way to do a relationship. You'll figure it out. And it'll be great. And honestly, if they see you tonight in this outfit, they'll probably just ask you out right then and there."

Adora smirked and Bow nudged her. "There it is. Be confident. And that nervousness and stuff you're feeling. It sounds an awful lot like some good old fashioned loooooove."

Adora smiled bashfully and looked away. "I definitely want...more than just a friendship. I think."

Bow laughed. "You think? Girl, I think you've been a goner since you first told me about them."

Adora hung her head in defeat. "Yeah you might be right."

"I usually am," he said proudly. "By the way, I've given so much premium advice that I think I deserve at least the first letter of their first name."

"Ha! No way," Adora said immediately. "You'd figure it out instantly."

"Darn. Well it was worth a shot. I'll just have to wait till you two are dating and then I can third wheel with you all the time."

Adora relished the thought of her and Catra dating. Bow always made her feel more sure of what she wanted. He was good at sorting through all the stuff she had flying around in her brain.

"Thanks, Bow. I feel like I abuse your ability to make people feel better."

"You definitely don't. I love talking to you about this stuff. And to be honest I just say random stuff until you feel better."

"You do not," Adora said jokingly.

"Well I really don't know what I'm talking about, but I do try. Even if you don't give me those juicy details. Now let me finish this hair. And maybe in the meantime you can tell me a little more about this person."

"Hmmm. Only small details. Real small details."

Adora and Bow spent the next few minutes talking about the situation and how everything was going. Before long, Adora was feeling better about it all and she even felt a little more comfortable about the party.

After a while, the two heard footsteps coming down the stairs and turned to look as Glimmer strolled into the room.

"Yo," she said suavely, flashing a peace sign and striking a pose.

Bow's jaw dropped and he looked from the smiling Adora back to Glimmer. "I swear. You two are blowing my mind with this stuff. Who are you and what have you done with Glimmer!?"

"Oh her?" Glimmer asked. "She's dead."

Glimmer smiled wickedly, her teeth flashing brightly in contrast to the pitch black makeup that coated her lips. Her eyes were similarly adorned with thick black eyeliner. A shiny metal nose ring hung from Glimmer's septum. She wore a low cut black dress with little skulls on it. Black fishnet leggings covered her legs and studded black boots rested on her feet. A lacey black choker fit snugly around her throat and over the top of it, she had a metal necklace in the shape of an upside down cross. Her fingernails were painted black to match and she had a few bulky rings on her fingers. But by far the most eye catching feature was Glimmer's hair. The usual bubblegum pink had been replaced by a jet black.

"Wow!" Bow exclaimed again. "What...did you dye your hair?"

Glimmer snorted. "It's spray on stuff. It should wash out easily. And heck, if it doesn't I'll have an excuse to dye my hair black for good!"

"You look great, Glimmer," Adora complimented.

"Oh my gosh, you do too!" She squealed and rushed over to Adora. "Oh man, your braid looks really cool!"

"You can thank Bow for that one," Adora said, shooting him a thankful look. Bow smiled and rested an arm on Adora's shoulder.

"So what do we do now?" He asked.

Glimmer looked at her friends with a big grin on her face. "Now I'm thinking we can carve pumpkins! And then watch a scary movie and eat so much candy that we all throw up together!"

Adora laughed loudly. "Yeah throwing up with you guys really sounds like a blast."

"I love you guys so much," Bow said joyfully.

"Awww come here," Adora crooned and gave Bow a big hug. Glimmer hopped in too and wrapped her arms around the two of them.

"Happy Halloween!" Glimmer proclaimed, her voice muffled by the group hug.

_**Don't fret reader, we aren't done with Halloween yet. We still have a party to go to! And some drama with Scorpia. Poor baby. I'm gonna split this into two parts cuz I love Halloween and this chapter would have been massive if I hadn't. And here comes a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! I am putting up a version of Days At A Time that is translated to Spanish! A suuuper skilled translator and writer from this site reached out to me and offered to take on this task and I was really flattered and excited that I could have the opportunity to reach out to a broader group of readers and make my story more inclusive. So just massively huge thanks to Gio AR for everything they've done and I hope that this version of the story can be a better option for a lot of readers! So exciting! Anyway thanks to everyone for the support! It means a lot and I'm excited to keep writing this story. Thanks!**_


	23. Chapter 23

"Guts! Guts! Guts!" Glimmer chanted loudly as she pulled orange pulp out from the inside of a pumpkin. Bow watched the violent act in silent horror and reminded himself never to get on her bad side.

On the kitchen counter beside them, Adora was cleaning out her own pumpkin. Her massive sword rested threateningly on the counter beside her. "You don't wanna gut your own pumpkin?" Adora asked Bow as she looked up from her work.

"Absolutely not," Bow said confidently. "The insides feel like…like…"

"Like guts!" Glimmer suggested and Bow shivered.

"Yeah like guts. Plus I just had my nails done," Bow said with a smile. "That reminds me. Adora. We're having a full on spa day here soon and we're gonna get you a manicure and you're gonna love it."

"I dunno," Adora responded doubtfully, pulling another clump out of her pumpkin. "What do they do? Just clip your nails? I can do that myself."

Bow laughed and Glimmer spoke up. "I'm not a big manicure person myself, but they do a lot more than just clipping. They, like, file and give you a little hand massage and put it in warm water and then they paint it for you and stuff."

Adora seemed unimpressed. "Painting, huh? Why should I make them all pretty if I'm just gonna break them off on accident in weights or something?"

"You're reading too much into the details," Bow said. "It's really about being pampered. Feeling all special and relaxed."

"Hmmm. Maybe," Adora considered. "But I still don't see the point. Nobody ever looks at people's hands."

Glimmer chuckled and Bow gasped. "I look at hands , thank you very much!"

Adora rolled her eyes and smiled. "Well besides you then. I don't think anybody else ever really pays attention."

"She's kinda got a point," Glimmer admitted and Bow slapped her arm playfully.

"You two heathens wouldn't understand," he said with a sigh. "I like to be beautiful from head to toe."

"Well you are one of the prettiest people I know if that makes you feel better. And you're rocking Lara Croft," Adora assured her friend.

"Aww, you're so sweet Adora," Bow said emotionally and gave Adora a quick hug.

"Watch out I'm covered in pumpkin guts," Adora said with a chuckle. "I think I'm all ready to carve though!"

"Me too!" Glimmer exclaimed, throwing a final pile of pulp into a bag beside her. She missed a little and a lot of the insides landed on the floor with a wet slap. Glimmer frowned at the mess. "Sorry mom!" Glimmer yelled.

"Clean it up!" Angella's voice came from further back in the house.

Adora and Bow laughed and Glimmer eyed the floor begrudgingly before cleaning it up as best she could.

Then they all took their hollowed out pumpkins and went and sat down at the dining table.

"Alright," Glimmer said, eyeing her pumpkin. "Should I go scary or cute?"

Adora answered 'scary' just as Bow answered 'cute.' Glimmer looked between the two.

"Well I guess I'm gonna go for cute _and _scary," Glimmer said happily as she began to draw sketch lines on her pumpkin with a sharpie.

Bow sighed deeply and took in the essence of his pumpkin. "Uhuh, yep. Alright I got it. I'm gonna make us. A monument to our best friend squad."

Adora whistled impressively. "That's gonna be hard to carve all three of us in there!"

"Oh I have my ways," Bow said, eyebrows raised.

Adora snorted and turned to her own pumpkin. "I don't know what I'm gonna do but it's gonna be scary. Like a big mouth with big teeth and, like, a hundred eyes."

"Oooh," Glimmer cooed at the description. "I like that. Now I ki...Woah!" She recoiled from the table. "I just about cut the old finger off right there."

"Glimmer! Be careful!" Bow exclaimed, eyeing the knife in Glimmer's hand.

"Oh I'll be fine, _mom_," Glimmer retorted. "Who needs a pointer finger anyway?"

Shortly after they all began to focus on their carving. Glimmer put on a Halloween playlist and they all talked amicably as they worked.

Bow gave up about halfway through and asked Adora to carve the rest because his arms were tired. And Glimmer managed to avoid cutting herself the whole time.

After an hour or so, the friends all put candles in their jack-o-lantern's and put them out on the front porch. They took a few steps back and watched their pumpkins glow together in the light of the slowly dimming evening.

Glimmer had taken cute and scary very literally. Half of her pumpkin was smiling and happy and the other half was gnarled and evil looking.

Adora's had a huge mouth with razor sharp teeth and around 20 eyeballs. She was very proud.

And then Bow's was...very creative.

"Y'know, Bow," Glimmer said, cocking her head to one side and examining Bow's pumpkin. "I think I actually look pretty spot on. You carved my hair good and I'm holding, like, a stick or something?"

Bow smiled defeatedly. "That's actually supposed to be Adora holding her sword."

"Ooooh."

"Is Glimmer that one on the other side then?" Adora asked.

"Yeah you can tell cuz she's all goth and frowning."

Glimmer chuckled. "Well you win the award for the most love poured into a pumpkin."

"That's all I wanted," Bow said cheerfully. "Thanks for carving a good half of it, Adora."

"I wouldn't thank me. I'm the reason that sword looks like a stick."

The group laughed and Bow clapped his arms around his friends. It was getting dark and kids were starting to roam the streets with their parents close by and empty bags in their hands.

"How about we go watch that scary movie now?" Bow asked, and the girls agreed.

They went inside and all curled up on the couch to watch a scary movie together. By the end they were all gripping one another tightly.

* * *

"Catra! Scorpia's here!" Catra's father yelled from the front door, an overflowing bowl of candy in his hands. He turned back to Scorpia who stood waiting at the door. "Come in, come in," he urged as he ushered her inside and she shuffled in slowly.

Gerald instantly noticed Scorpia seemed a little less animated than usual and he hoped the girl was alright. "Happy Halloween, Scorpia. No costume this year?"

Scorpia shook her head slowly. "Not this year."

"Well it's probably for the best. Catra's dressing up for the first time in a while and that's probably why she's still getting ready." He noticed that Scorpia seemed distracted and he frowned slightly. "Are you alright? Do you need anything?"

Scorpia looked surprised at being addressed. "Oh no I don't. Thank you though. Uh. I will take some of that candy though."

"Help yourself!" He handed her the bowl and she grabbed a random handful that she absentmindedly stuffed into her pocket. "You're free to go see if Catra is ready or not. She _hopefully_ shouldn't keep you too much longer."

Scorpia nodded and walked off towards Catra's room in the basement. As she got closer, she could hear the sound of some loud punk song playing from Catra's room. She paused for a moment at the door before knocking.

There was a sudden shuffling sound followed by the gentle thudding of approaching footsteps and then the door flew open, revealing a fully costumed Catra.

Her costume seemed to be just a few steps off from her regular outfits. She had her fitted leather jacket on and that necklace she always had was draped around her neck. She wore a simple, white t-shirt under the jacket and a black belt that held up black skinny jeans with tears in the legs. Scorpia noticed a few chains hanging from Catra's jean pocket. She had a red bandanna on her head and her hair was slicked back so that it poofed out the back.

Scorpia watched as Catra took her black sunglasses off and observed Scorpia in half-hearted disapproval.

"Hey you," she said casually. "You totally ditched me during practice."

"Yeah I did...Sorry about that," Scorpia said nervously, trying not to stare at Catra too much in her costume. As she looked at Catra, Double Trouble's words rang through her head again and she felt a pang of sadness. She wasn't sure if what they said was true, but it had sure made sense to Scorpia.

"So...what's up? Why'd you bail?" Catra asked, waiting expectantly and leaning against the doorframe.

"See I...uh...I'll tell you in the car. Are you ready?"

Catra squinted at Scorpia, trying to figure out what she was hiding, before scanning her room. She ran down the basement steps and grabbed a comb before heading back up the stairs. "Ready to go," she said assuredly.

They were almost out the door when Catra's dad called from behind them. "Hey now! No leaving before your old man gets some pictures!"

Catra groaned loudly and turned around to see her dad holding his little digital camera. "Daaaaad, we're gonna be late."

"Oh, it'll just be a couple seconds. And you look so cute in that biker costume!" Gerald said as he excitedly held up his camera.

Catra grumbled to herself before wrapping one arm around Scorpia and facing the camera. Scorpia managed to whip up a smile that she hoped was convincing enough.

About a dozen pictures later, Gerald was satisfied and told both girls they could go free. "And be safe! If you need me to pick you up, just call!"

The girls left the house and hopped into Scorpia's car. Catra looked down at herself as Scorpia backed out of the driveway carefully.

"Is this costume alright? I kinda just threw it together and hoped it looked cool."

"Oh yeah you look great!" Scorpia agreed instantly. "Really cool, Cat."

Catra eyed Scorpia suspiciously. "Okay, what's up? You're very obviously out of whack."

"I...yeah I mean maybe a little. I uh...I dunno I'm not feeling well. Maybe my fever is coming back? And also…" Scorpia trailed off.

"Yes?"

"Well there's...I don't know. I'm just dealing with some stuff. I guess."

"You guess? What's up? Maybe I can help."

"I don't think so, Cat," Scorpia said with a sigh. "Uh...subject change. You excited for your party?"

Catra stared intensely at Scorpia for a while longer as she drove, wondering what she was hiding, before eventually answering begrudgingly. "Well. Yeah I am pretty excited actually."

"That's good. And you're fine going alone? Do you wanna bring a plus one?"

"Uh. I'm actually going with Adora. So I should be alright."

"Oh."

There was a period of awkward silence and Scorpia turned up the radio a little bit.

"Well," Scorpia said, clearing her throat. "That's good. You and Adora seem to be real good friends, huh?"

"Yeah we are," Catra said slowly, fully aware that Scorpia still wasn't acting like herself. She toyed with the idea that maybe Scorpia was jealous that she was spending more and more time with Adora instead of her. "Are you, like, alright with Adora?"

"Oh yeah," Scorpia said quickly. "Yeah she's...great."

"Okay," Catra said awkwardly. Both girls could feel the tension in the car and for the rest of the short trip, neither of them spoke much at all.

When they finally got to Scorpia's house, Catra was relieved. Anything to get out of this car right now.

Catra bit at her nails unceasingly as she wondered what was wrong with her friend and waited for Scorpia to park the car. The second they were stopped, Catra hopped out.

"Oh hey, it looks like Rogelio is here," Catra said, gesturing to their friend's car.

"Oh, huh," Scorpia said in an unconvincing excited tone.

Catra ignored her and walked quickly up to the front door, letting herself in. Kyle and Rogelio were standing at the island in the kitchen and looked at Catra when she entered, followed by Scorpia.

"Happy Halloween!" They greeted the pair cheerily. They weren't wearing costumes either, but Kyle had a t-shirt on that said, 'If lost, return to Rogelio,' and Rogelio had a matching shirt that said, 'I'm Rogelio.'

"Love the costume, Catra!" Kyle complimented.

"Did you guys bring the chips?" Rogelio asked.

"Oh shoot," Catra responded. She had forgotten all about it with how weird Scorpia had been acting. "We can go grab some from the place down the street."

"I'll get them," Scorpia insisted and turned to leave again.

"I'll go with you," Catra said as she followed the girl. Regardless of how awkward it was, if something was wrong with Scorpia, Catra didn't want her to be alone.

"I'm fine going alone," Scorpia insisted. "I'll be back in a few minutes." With that she walked outside, shutting the door behind her.

Catra stared in disbelief for a moment before looking back at Kyle and Rogelio. They also looked a little confused.

"I was gonna say we could just eat the dip with a spoon," Kyle said quietly. "Is she…"

"I have no idea," Catra said exhaustedly. "But something's up and it's weirding me out."

"Yeah," Kyle said, pretty sure he knew what was going on to some degree. "Well maybe we can cheer her up! We brought board games too!"

Rogelio held up a stack of board games and Catra smiled wearily at the pair.

"Yeah we'll see," she replied meditatively, sitting down and grabbing a spoonful of dip.

* * *

Catra sat in her car a few hours later, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel absentmindedly. She watched kids run around from house to house with their oversized costumes and clutching their bags of candy. One of the kids, who was dressed up like a little pirate, tripped and fell on the sidewalk and Catra chuckled to herself at the sight.

She didn't _always_ laugh at kids hurting themselves, but at the moment she needed a good laugh what with all the Scorpia stuff. Catra still wasn't even sure what was going on there. She had taken forever to come back with the chips. She had claimed they were busy, but Catra got the feeling that wasn't true. Scorpia wasn't exactly a great liar.

The rest of the night had been a little awkward. Scorpia had pretended she was fine, but everyone could kind of tell something was off. Catra wanted to just interrogate Scorpia and figure out what was wrong, but she hadn't had an opportunity to get the girl alone. She would have to corner her at school the next day and figure it out.

"God, I hate drama," Catra muttered to herself as she rubbed her eyes wearily. She was happy to get out of the situation early and hopefully enjoy herself at this party with Adora.

Catra was parked down the street from Adora's house. She couldn't see it from where she was and Adora had made it their spot for incognito meetings. With a surge of excitement, Catra realized that Adora had been planning on telling Glimmer about them after Halloween.

_"It'll feel nice to not be a secret anymore," _Catra thought as she leaned her seat back a little and rested comfortably. _"Even if I gotta deal with Glimmer again."_

Catra checked her phone for the hundredth time. She had been waiting for a while, but then again she had gotten here super early. Catra sighed and went back to staring out the window. The kid who had fallen was sitting in the grass, crying and being coddled by his parents. Catra chuckled again and started to wonder if she'd ever want kids when she heard a knock on the passenger side door.

She turned to see a girl peering into the window and only registered that it was Adora after a few seconds of blankly staring. She waved her hand, signalling Adora to get in.

Adora opened the door and hopped in eagerly. The girls stared at each other for a brief moment, registering how the other looked.

"Wow," Catra said almost breathlessly. "I am...I mean you look...absolutely incredible and I feel suddenly very underdressed."

"No, you look amazing! We'll be a perfect match," Adora said quickly. She was also very stunned by Catra's appearance.

Adora actually wasn't sure she had ever been so attracted to somebody before and if she had, she sure couldn't remember.

"A perfect match," Catra repeated warmly. She reached over and played with the patches of 'fur' on Adora's costume. "I like these. Did you make this?"

"Me and Glimmer have been working on it for a while as a little side project."

"Well... congratulations. I mean this is pretty next level. I just combed my hair and put on a bandanna."

Adora laughed. "I guess you're just an actual biker in real life."

Catra nodded cooly. "Yeah just you wait. One day I'll be pulling in to pick you up on a motorcycle."

"Well I can't wait for that," Adora said excitedly. "You ready for this party?"

"As I'll ever be," Catra said and turned the car on, pulling away from the curb. She made sure to be extra careful to impress Adora with her driving skills. "How was time with friends?"

"It was fun!" Adora responded. "We carved pumpkins and ate a bunch of chili and watched a really bad scary movie."

"That sounds fun," Catra said distractedly, narrowly avoiding backing up into a parked car.

"Yeah it was. How was your little shindig?"

"Well for one never say shindig again. That's just weird."

"Yeah it felt weird saying it too," Adora said thoughtfully, absentmindedly clutching the handle on the door as Catra began to maneuver her way through the busy Halloween streets.

"But anyway, it was...not particularly a great time."

Adora cocked her head and looked over at Catra. "Why not?"

"Well," Catra took one hand off the wheel to bite at a fingernail and spit the severed piece of nail onto the car floor. Adora figured that in some circumstances that could be seen as rude, but when Catra did it, it was just cute somehow. "Scorpia's been acting kinda weird. It started when she left theater practice, I think. I think she's mad at me or something."

"Hmm," Adora considered the situation, feeling sorry for Catra. "What could she be mad about?"

"I don't know," Catra said helplessly. "I have no idea. I didn't do anything wrong, I don't think. I asked her before I left if I had hurt her feelings somehow and she said I hadn't and that she was fine. Which, like, is a total lie. I mean, I know Scorpia and she was just...off."

"Well maybe it's not something you did. Maybe it's an unrelated issue," Adora wondered aloud.

"Maybe," Catra said with a sigh. "I don't even know. But I'm trying not to worry about it anymore. Now is the time for you and me and a Halloween party."

"That sounds good. But let me know how it goes, okay?" Adora wondered if she should try to comfort Catra in some way, but she wasn't sure how to go about doing so without being awkward.

"Yeah I'll keep you updated. I think it'll blow over though. Maybe a bad day or something. But onto a more pressing matter. Can you pull up Maps? Cuz I'm realizing I have no idea how to get to Mermista's place."

"Oh my gosh. Then where are we going right now?" Adora asked with a grin as she fished her phone out of a small leather pouch that held her phone and also worked with her costume.

"Well I just kinda guessed it'd be this way. I was honestly just gonna drive and hope I'd find it, but I don't wanna be late."

"That is, I think, the dumbest idea ever," Adora joked and Catra laughed.

They made it to Mermista's neighborhood before too long with the help of Adora's navigation. Catra proudly announced that she could probably have found the place on her own and was going in the right direction anyway. Adora strongly disagreed.

They pulled into the fancy looking neighborhood and gawked at the big houses.

"Man, why does Mermista get to be popular and rich?" Catra asked as they drove past the homes. "I mean, that house there is like four of my houses. Who needs that?"

"It is pretty crazy," Adora agreed, keeping an eye out for Mermista's house.

"I wanna be rich," Catra mused to herself. "We could have solid gold furniture and a butler and have fancy dinner parties."

"We?" Adora asked.

"Well yeah," Catra replied matter-of-factly. "If I get rich you're definitely gonna live in my big mansion with me."

"Oh yeah?" Adora said, staring over at Catra with a big grin etched on her face. "I think I could get behind that."

"Heck yeah you could," Catra replied. "Maybe I'll win the lottery or something. There's still time. Oh hey. I think I found it."

Catra pointed to another huge house with a ton of cars parked in the driveway and on the curb outside. As they drove up to it, Adora checked the house number and nodded.

"Yeah this is it," Adora confirmed, and Catra parked the car outside the house on the street.

"Well that was easy," Catra said confidently. "And we're only _fashionably _late."

"Yep," Adora said, staring out her window at the house.

Catra craned her neck to get a look at Adora's face. "Hey are you getting anxious about the party?"

Adora sighed and half-nodded. "It's a lot of cars."

"Hey look at me," Catra said with a soft voice and Adora turned from the window, locking eyes with Catra. "It's gonna be okay. We'll go in and I'll stick right by your side and either you'll decide it's kinda fun or you'll decide it's too much and we'll be out of here in a heartbeat."

Looking into Catra's multicolored eyes, Adora genuinely felt better. More at ease. Adora wondered if anyone had ever had this effect on her before.

"Okay. You're right. It'll be fine either way. Thanks," Adora said genuinely.

Catra smiled and nodded before checking her hair in the rearview mirror.

Adora laughed as Catra pulled out a comb and fixed some stray hairs.

"Your hair looks fine," Adora told the girl. "I like it when it's messy anyway."

Catra set the comb down and shot a smile at Adora, wondering how she had lucked out in meeting her. She also couldn't help but stare at Adora's exposed biceps, but was able to not make her ogling too obvious.

"You ready?" Catra asked.

"Definitely."

The girls got out of the car and walked up to the house together. As they approached, they began to hear the sound of low, pulsing music emanating from the house. They stopped at the big front door and stared for a bit.

"Do you ring the doorbell to get into a party or just walk in?" Adora asked.

"I don't know, I'm not exactly invited to many parties. I don't know party etiquette or whatever," Catra responded.

They stared a bit longer before Adora reached out and rang the doorbell. They waited a bit and there didn't seem to be any answer.

Catra sighed. "Well I guess the music's too loud for th…"

Catra was interrupted by the door opening suddenly and both girls saw a tall guy dressed in a cowboy costume standing in the doorway. He looked them over for a bit and then seemed to recognize them.

"You're those girls who got in that fight at the football game, right?"

"Uh…Yep. That's us," Catra responded and the guy nodded.

"That's awesome. Nice costumes. Come on in." He ushered them inside and the girls tentatively stepped in and took in their surroundings.

Prior to this, the biggest house Adora had been in was Glimmer's. This house was even bigger and was currently full of older looking high school students. Most of them were seniors and Adora wondered if any juniors from her and Catra's class were there.

The music was a lot louder from inside and Adora wondered if there was a spot in the house where they could go to get away from the noise. Adora could see the kitchen, where there seemed to be a chocolate fountain and various drinks. She could also see a living room area where a lot of costumed people were hanging out and talking or dancing to the music.

It was a lot to take in all at once and Adora was just wondering if it was too late to turn back when she felt a hand grip her own and squeeze gently. She looked over to see Catra grasping her hand and smiling encouragingly.

Adora felt relief followed by shocked satisfaction that Catra was holding her hand followed by self consciousness as she silently prayed that Catra wouldn't notice how sweaty and gross her hand was right now.

"Mermista's out back. She'll probably wanna see you guys. You can follow me if you want."

Catra and Adora nodded in agreement and followed him through the kitchen into a big dining room and through a sliding glass door that led out to a huge deck facing a backyard with a big pool and plenty of lawn space. Strings of lights hung from the awning over the deck and Adora spotted a couple teens gathered around a fire pit over by the pool.

The bewildered girls blindly followed their guide over to the side of the deck where a group was circled around a ping pong table watching two people play.

Adora and Catra recognized Mermista as one of the players right away, even with her back to them. She was wearing what looked like a mermaid costume. Her dress sparkled with scale-like flaps of shiny aquatic colors. She seemed pretty enraptured in the game and was quickly exchanging shots with a girl across the table. The ball bounced over to Mermista's side rapidly and almost went off the table, but Mermista slapped it back with her paddle and the ball landed back in her opponent's side, bouncing twice and slipping off the table as the girl swung and missed.

Mermista held her paddle up in the air and the group around her chanted her name.

"Undefeated ping pong champion!" Mermista yelled and was met with more cheering. Mermista wrapped an arm around the shoulders of the girl she had been playing against and said some things to her friends before stepping away from the table to grab a drink she had left on a dining table nearby.

The guy who was leading Catra and Adora walked up to her and greeted her.

"Hey Mermista. Some more of your friends showed up. They looked a little lost."

Mermista turned around and smiled when she saw the pair of them standing there. "Look at you two being, like, totally cute with your freaking dope costumes. You got some wide eyes though. First high school party?" Both girls nodded in agreement and Mermista continued. "Yeah I figured. This is _super _tame compared to some other stuff. My parents are, like, right upstairs so it's kinda lame. But whatever. It's good to see you guys."

"Yeah, same," Adora responded dazedly.

Mermista looked Adora over and nodded to herself. "I have just the place for you two. Follow me."

She led them over to the other side of the deck. There were two people leaning on the guardrail and talking, but other than that there were just a few empty tables. Adora instantly liked the spot. It was quieter and a little removed and the twinkling fairy lights above the tables had a calming effect.

"This is, like, more your guys' speed. But, seriously, if you guys get bored or something feel free to go anywhere. Or come find me and we'll hang out. I'd love to destroy you both in ping pong."

"Thanks, Mermista," Adora said, already more at ease.

"Oh yeah, for sure. And also, like, these are pretty cool people but, like, if anyone messes with you in any way let me know and they're outta here, alright?"

"Will do," Catra said enthusiastically, thankful to Mermista for inviting them to this so that her and Adora could have a chance to hang out.

"Awesome. I'll be over there asserting my dominance. You two keep being cute," Mermista said with a chuckle and walked back over to the ping pong table.

They watched her go and then made their way to one of the little umbrella-covered, wooden tables and sat down.

Adora scanned the area again and eased up a little. "So...what exactly do you do at a party?" Adora asked Catra, who was quickly checking her hair in her phone mirror.

"Uh. Well I don't know," Catra answered as she put her phone away. "Most people probably mingle and dance or something. But I just wanna do what you're doing."

Adora smiled at her friend. "Well I don't wanna bore you is all."

"I'm at a senior party in a practical mansion with a barbarian sitting across from me. I'm not bored," Catra explained with a chuckle. "How about we just talk for a bit? I'll go get us something to drink."

"That sounds good," Adora agreed. "Can you see if they have lemonade?"

Catra laughed. "Yeah I'll see if they have lemonade, but I wouldn't get your hopes up. And I'll make sure nothing is spiked or something." Catra pushed away from the table. "I'll be back," she said and dashed away to the glass door they had come from that led to the kitchen.

Adora watched from their spot as Catra wandered up to the island in the kitchen and began looking around. Probably for lemonade. Adora smiled to herself as she watched Catra from afar. She couldn't believe she was at a party with Catra. That was definitely not something she would've seen coming a month ago.

Adora noticed Catra continuing to search the kitchen as she opened the pantry door. Adora pulled out her phone and began to text Catra to forget about the lemonade when she saw a tall girl she had never seen before approach Catra.

Adora watched curiously as the girl seemed to introduce herself and Catra closed the pantry doors, responding to the girl.

The girl was definitely a senior. She was tall and pretty and athletic looking. Adora couldn't make out many more details than that from where she sat. She squinted her eyes to watch the exchange. The girl said something and Catra laughed in response. The girl moved a little closer to Catra, leaning up against the island as she did so.

Adora wasn't exactly sure why she did it, but before she knew it, she had stood up from the table and was walking towards the door. She slid it open and slipped inside, wading into the kitchen precariously.

The older girl, who was dressed up like a vampire, noticed her enter the room and Catra followed the girl's stare, turning to see Adora approaching.

"Oh hey!" Catra said excitedly, waving her over. "This is Adora," she said, introducing Adora to the girl.

The girl smiled and waved. "Hey, I'm Casey. I heard you wanted some lemonade?"

Catra laughed a little at this and Adora just nodded. "Yeah I did. Just came to tell Catra that if she couldn't find any that's alright."

"Well that works out cuz there isn't any I don't think," Catra replied.

"I mean they have lemons and sugar and stuff," Casey said, looking around the kitchen. "If you really need some lemonade I'm sure we could make it."

"Oh no I'm fine, really," Adora insisted.

Casey nodded and then turned her attention back to Catra. "But as I was saying, I really _love_ your costume."

"Oh thanks," Catra said appreciatively. "Yeah it's basically just what I normally wear so it wasn't that hard to throw together."

"Wow. You're always in biker girl mode?" Casey asked with a smile. She scanned Catra's costume again and Adora swore that the girl's gaze lingered for just a little too long.

Catra shrugged, seemingly oblivious to any unusual behavior. "Yeah it's kinda my thing I guess."

"Cool," Casey said thoughtfully. "And is this real leather?" As she said this, she reached out and felt the sleeve of the jacket Catra wore, squeezing Catra's arm lightly. Adora's eyes widened a little at the physical contact and if she had any doubt that this girl was hitting on Catra before, it was definitely gone now.

Catra seemed a little confused at the touch, but still didn't seem to be reacting in any way. "Yeah it is. Its still got that nice leather smell, too."

"Oh yeah?" Casey asked curiously. "I love the smell of leather. I w…"

Casey was interrupted mid-sentence as Adora said "oh shoot" rather loudly, reacting to a cup of soda that she had knocked over onto the floor. Catra and Casey turned to look at Adora and she shrugged guiltily.

"Oops," Adora said simply.

Catra looked around for some paper towels and grabbed a handful off of the counter, walking over to where Adora had spilled the drink.

"Oh let me clean it, I'm the one who spilled it," Adora insisted, but Catra just shook her head.

"No way," she said with a defiant smirk. "I pride myself on being a gentleman."

Adora smiled and Catra began to clean up the puddle. Casey looked on from where she had been standing. Adora eyed her suspiciously out of the corner of her eye. She had spilled the drink on purpose, of course. She hadn't even thought about it first. She just wanted to stop whatever interaction was happening between Catra and this girl as soon as possible.

Catra finished cleaning up the mess and clapped her hands together, turning to Adora. "Well no lemonade in sight. What do you want instead?"

"You know I'm not actually all that thirsty," Adora lied. "We might just head back outside."

"Oh you guys are outside?" Casey asked and Adora was barely able to stop herself from groaning out loud. "I haven't been out there yet, but I heard they have a big pool."

"Oh yeah it is pretty big," Catra agreed, looking out through the screen doors.

"Do you like swimming?" Casey asked.

"Every once in a while. I did swim team for a little bit way back when and kinda hated it," Catra said, looking from Adora to Casey and then back out at their table.

"Oh my gosh, I did swim team too!" Casey exclaimed. "And I also quit after, like, a year. The practices were way too early and the water was freezing. Plus the coach was awful."

"Oh yeah Coach Trabon," Catra replied. "She would always yell at me when I'd splash my friend Scorpia. Super mean."

"The meanest," Casey agreed with a smile. She looked over at Adora momentarily. "So are you two a couple or…?"

Catra, who had been calm up until now, froze a little and looked over at Adora, who averted her eyes, her face turning red.

"Uh...no. No we're just here as...friends," Catra responded. Catra hated friend-zoning herself, but it was really the only option.

Adora watched as Casey nodded in response and she instantly spotted the look of relief on Casey's face. Adora fought the urge to scowl at the girl as she once again turned her attention back to Catra.

"Cool, cool," Casey said, diverting the subject. "Well you seem pretty cool. You guys wanna come hang out in the other room? We can hang out and maybe dance a little."

Catra frowned and began shaking her head as she instantly looked to Adora. "I don't think so...we're a little tired from the night and all." Adora felt the tightness in her chest loosen a little and she breathed a small sigh of relief as Catra turned the offer down.

"I get it," Casey said. "These things are tiring. Well maybe we can go hang out by the pool or something where it's less...populated."

"Uh…" Catra replied slowly. "I mean...how does that sound to you, Adora?"

_"I'd rather die," _Adora thought to herself immediately.

"You know," Adora replied slowly, moving up beside Catra and putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I actually am feeling…uh...I have a headache. Real bad. And I left my headache medicine in your car so we should go get that...first," Adora stared at Catra, trying to convey to her without speaking that she wanted to escape the situation.

Catra didn't seem to get the subtle look in Adora's eyes. "Oh I didn't even know you brought that. I'll go grab it for you if you want."

"I'll come with you," Adora said hurriedly and practically pulled Catra along as they moved out of the kitchen.

"It was nice meeting you Casey!" Adora yelled over her shoulder as they left and Catra waved a quick goodbye to the confused looking girl.

Adora slowed her pace once they were out of the kitchen, but she continued pulling Catra towards the door.

Catra was a little confused by the urgency of the situation at first, but soon started to realize that Adora was trying to get out and walked with her to the front door which they quickly exited.

Adora closed the door behind them and let out an audible sigh of relief.

"You okay?" Catra asked instantly. "I figured a little too late you were in a hurry to get out of there. Is...do you actually have a headache or…?"

"No I don't," Adora said with a shake of her head. "And I'm fine now."

Catra groaned lightly. "I'm sorry," she said guiltily. "I should've known you were uncomfortable. I know you aren't a big fan of meeting strangers and with the whole new environment and everything…"

"No it wasn't that at all," Adora explained as she moved over to a nearby porch swing and sat on it. The swing began to sway gently and Adora motioned for Catra to come sit next to her.

Catra settled into the swing next to Adora as it rocked slowly back and forth. It was pretty chilly at this point in the night and Adora wasn't wearing anything over her arms so she shivered a little and scooted closer to Catra.

"Here take my jacket," Catra said as she began to shrug her jacket off.

"No, you keep it," Adora insisted. "I know you're a baby when it comes to the cold. You shiver when it's like 70 degrees out."

Catra huffed and resisted, but ultimately conceded and kept her jacket. "So...what happened in there?" Catra asked this as Adora scooted a little closer to her on the swing. Catra tried to focus on the conversation and not Adora's body.

Adora sighed, her exhalation creating a visible mist in the cold night air. "It was dumb."

"It wasn't _dumb_," Catra countered and continued to wait for a reply.

"It's... embarrassing," Adora responded with a shake of her head as she looked away.

"Well now I gotta know," Catra said, her curiosity piqued.

"I'd rather not," Adora said hesitantly.

"Oh fine then I'll just assume you peed yourself or something," Catra replied petulantly with a poorly contained grin.

"I did not!" Adora cried out, laughing despite her embarrassment. Catra laughed with Adora and then there was a brief moment of silence before Adora spoke up.

"It was just...I don't know... it's dumb. But that Casey girl was, like, all over you and...I don't know she just creeped me out. So...I wanted to leave."

Catra was completely taken aback by Adora's explanation. "You mean… Really? Was she?"

"Oh yeah!" Adora asserted. "She was all like, 'Oh that leather looks so good on you. I better feel up your bicep to ensure this is real leather. You smell so good. Let's go swim together.' Super creepy."

Catra laughed at Adora's reenactment of Casey's words and thought back to the interaction. "I guess it might have been a little...flirtatious on her end maybe?"

"Oh definitely," Adora agreed. "You must be real bad at reading these cues cuz she was big time into you."

"And that made you wanna leave?" Catra asked, feeling a sudden rush of excitement as she pieced together what had happened.

Adora instantly turned away and looked out at Mermista's front yard. "I mean...yeah. She was...I don't think she was good. Like...she just eyed you weird and I got a bad vibe...I guess," she stuttered awkwardly, wishing she hadn't told Catra why she had left.

Catra stared in shock at Adora. Catra had been pretty sure that Adora was somewhat into her, but she had never gotten such a strong reinforcement of this.

Adora, hearing no response from Catra, looked over and saw the shocked look on her face, which Catra quickly tried to drop.

"What?" Adora asked worriedly. "Okay maybe I overreacted. I shouldn't have dragged you away. I mean I was just feeling re…"

Catra quickly grabbed Adora's arm and pulled it close to her, clutching it tightly to her chest. Adora was so surprised by the sudden reaction that she gasped audibly, abandoning her apology.

Catra held Adora's cold arm against herself. She wasn't sure if this was too much or too little, but she had decided that she needed to be touching Adora in some way.

"I'm not mad," Catra said lightly. "Honestly I think it's...really sweet that you got so flustered over someone flirting with me."

Adora felt her face grow hot. "I mean I wasn't... flustered. I was…" Adora trailed off and Catra clutched her arm tighter.

After a few moments Adora relaxed and let herself fall into Catra a little more. Her head was almost resting on the girl's shoulder at this point as they sat semi-intertwined, rocking slowly in the swing.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, enjoying the feeling and warmth of each other. Neither wanted to disturb the moment and end the contact. They stayed like that for a while before Adora looked up at the stars in the night sky, angling her neck so that she could look upwards, but still rest her head on Catra.

"Do you know any of the constellations?" She asked quietly.

Catra looked up to where Adora was looking. "Not really. I know there's the dippers and like a guy in a belt somewhere and that's about it."

Adora laughed gently, careful not to disturb Catra. "Well I know just about all of them. Not to, like, show that off or anything. I just got real into space when I was little."

"Awww," Catra crooned as she stared up at the sky.

"Yeah I was a big space nerd. Read a ton about space whenever I could. I still think it's crazy how...insignificant we are."

"Woah," Catra said, surprised. "That took a dark turn."

"I don't know," Adora replied. "I think it's kind of freeing. Knowing that nothing matters too much compared to all that's out there."

Catra mused on this for a bit. "I guess I can see that. What's that big star?" Catra extended her arm and pointed to a bright speck in the sky.

"It's called Sirius," Adora responded. "It's the brightest one we can see. When I was little I always wanted to go up there and claim it somehow. So it'd be my star."

"That's cute," Catra said with a smile as she looked at Adora out of the corner of her eye. She was too busy focusing on the sky to notice her staring.

"It's so pretty," Adora said thoughtfully.

Catra continued to stare at Adora. Relishing every detail of her face as she continued to hold her arm tight.

"Yeah it is."

* * *

Adora and Catra never went back inside Mermista's house. Adora had insisted that they go back in, but Catra had declined. Adora hadn't put up much of a fight as she enjoyed their current situation much more.

They sat on the swing for at least another hour. Just talking and keeping close to one another for heat and comfort.

Eventually it got too cold to be comfortable and Catra was shivering visibly so the girls went back to Catra's car and warmed up. They drove around the neighborhood slowly and took the long way back to Adora's house as it began to get late and near Catra's curfew.

Catra stopped the car in their usual meetup space a few homes down from where Adora lived. Catra looked over to Adora regretfully, not wanting to have to part for the night.

"Well. First high school party! What did you think?" Catra asked, trying to stall for more time.

"It was...short," Adora responded. "But I enjoyed it. Mostly the last bit."

"Same," Catra agreed. "I uh...yeah I really had fun. I'm really glad you were there."

"I'm glad you were there too. I wouldn't have even gone if you weren't going." Adora looked at Catra and they made eye contact and Adora looked away again.

There was some kind of a tension in the air and both girls could feel it.

"Well…" Catra said hesitantly, "I should probably get back or my dad will chew me out."

"Yeah I should too."

Both girls looked at each other for a bit and Adora started to say something and then thought better of it. "I'll see you tomorrow?" Adora asked.

"Bright and early," Catra replied. "I'll text you goodnight when I get home."

Adora smiled back at Catra as she opened the car door. "That sounds good. Bye."

Catra waved as Adora got out and looked back at her one last time before walking down the street towards her house.

Catra watched her go and waited until she was out of eyesight before she pumped her fist excitedly. She smiled to herself and thought back to their time on the swing together. Then she cranked the music up on her radio and drove home, already excited to see Adora again.

_**Cute. One of my favorite chapters to write I think. It was a struggle though! I've had a real bad fever and writing is really hard when you're hurting all over and your brain wants to die. But when you're bedridden there isn't much else to do anyway. Anyway the story is still as fun as ever to write and I like where it's going! Thanks to everyone who reads and everything and I hope you all have a good day!**_


	24. Chapter 24

It was early Friday morning. Most of the students who attended Etheria High were already at the school or were on their way.

Glimmer and Adora were not. They were at a gas station.

"Oh my God!" Glimmer whisper shouted to Adora, who stood in the cold next to her. "This pump is the slowest pump I think I've ever used. This is gonna take forever!" She slapped her hand on the gas nozzle rapidly as if that would somehow speed it up.

"Oh, it won't be too much longer," Adora insisted, trying to bring a positive perspective to the situation as she tightened her coat around her.

"And we're probably gonna be late too. And you have your counseling. Why can't I just remember to get gas before the warning light turns on?"

"It's no big deal," Adora said. "I've seen Lonnie miss a ton of our meetings with Madame Razz and she hasn't gotten in trouble yet."

"I guess," Glimmer said begrudgingly as she watched the gas counter slowly rise. "Now I'm just cold and grumpy."

"Oh you little gremlin," Adora said lovingly as she took off her coat and gave it to Glimmer.

"You sure?" Glimmer asked hesitantly, though she was already putting it on.

"Yeah you need it more. I'm gonna get back in the car, though."

"Yeah go ahead. I should be done with this soon." Glimmer grumbled. Adora got back in the car and huddled up in the passenger seat.

She looked out at Glimmer, her foot tapping impatiently. Glimmer wasn't in the _best_ mood today. Was that good reason to prolong telling her about Catra? Or was that just another excuse?

_"What if I tell her and she hates me?"_ The thought found its way into Adora's mind once again as she played out the scenario in her head. She remembered Angella warning her that Glimmer could hold onto grudges for a while.

But Glimmer was also her foster sister and her best friend. There shouldn't be any big secrets like this between them.

_"Also," _Adora reasoned, _"if Catra and I do become more than friends it'll be impossible to hide. Now has to be the time."_

Adora was brainstorming ideas for how to let Glimmer know when she heard a yelp and a string of curses from outside. Adora hastily whipped her head around to see what had happened. It looked like Glimmer had spilled some of the gasoline onto herself when she was putting the pump back.

She got in the car and slammed the door behind her. The pungent odor of gasoline wafted off of her.

"I am not happy," Glimmer said plainly and began to drive away without another word.

_"Maybe I'll tell her this weekend after all," _Adora thought once again.

* * *

"Adora, your painting is looking _absolutely _splendid!" Mr. Hawk exclaimed energetically as he examined Adora's work.

"Thank you," Adora replied, happy to receive the compliment.

"No. Thank _you,_ Adora. A beautiful piece of art. And a painting of the sea no less! I love the sea! Keep up the good work." Mr. Hawk beamed down at Adora and her painting and then walked off to praise another student.

Adora looked at Perfuma with an exasperated look on her face. "He is the most high energy person I've ever met, I think."

"Definitely," Perfuma agreed. "He's nice though. And your painting is really good."

"Thanks. I am not as convinced it's as good as you and Mr. Hawk say, but I'm really enjoying painting it." Adora looked at her landscape painting of a beach shore and focused on what she had left to do.

"Well in the words of a wise man, it's looking 'absolutely splendid.'" Perfuma replied with a smile. "You seem like you're in a good mood by the way."

"Do I?" Adora asked as she dipped her brush into the paint on her pallet.

"Of course. You seem really at peace. You have a better energy now than you have for a while."

Adora thought about Catra and the Halloween party and smiled to herself. "Yeah maybe you're right."

* * *

"There you are," Mermista said slowly as she walked up behind Adora, who was going through her locker.

Adora turned around to greet Mermista. She soon noticed, however, that Mermista was staring at her disapprovingly, her hands on her hips.

"Oh...uh...good morning?" Adora greeted her cautiously.

"Yeah good morning. Gimme your phone number," Mermista demanded nonchalantly.

"Uh...okay." She pulled her phone out to check her number as she still hadn't memorized it yet. She read it off to Mermista who entered it into her phone and then sighed.

"Now I have your number _and_ I just got Catra's so when you two are planning on, like, literally disappearing from a party you can let your old pal Mermista know first."

"Oh shoot," Adora said as it dawned on her why Mermista was upset.

"Yeah, like, oh shoot is the right reaction. I spent forever looking for you guys. I, like, asked around and whatever."

"Why were you looking for us?"

"Well, like, I didn't know if you guys were alright or if the party had been too much for you or what."

Adora was surprised that Mermista had been so worried about them. "Sorry...we were out front on the sw…"

"Yeah I know you were out on the porch swing," Mermista interrupted. "Catra told me this morning. Just wish I had known last night."

Adora frowned. "Sorry. We should have told you where we were going."

"I mean," Mermista sighed and rolled her eyes. "I don't mean to be, like, an overbearing mom or whatever, but I was just worried y'know?"

"I know. I'll text you next time," Adora promised.

"Bold of you to assume you'll get invited to another party," Mermista said seriously before cracking a smile. "I'm just kidding. You two can, like, come by whenever. How'd you like last night?"

"Well the party was cool," Adora answered.

Mermista squinted her eyes. "Don't you lie."

"Well it was cool!" Adora insisted. "But...I guess it wasn't exactly my kind of thing. But that little space you showed us was really nice!"

Mermista snorted. "Yeah you guys stayed there for like five minutes."

"Yeah we got... distracted," Adora explained. "But after that we had a lot of fun on the swing."

Mermista raised an eyebrow suggestively. "Yeah I bet you did."

Adora's face immediately reddened, causing Mermista to laugh.

"Did Catra say something or…" Adora trailed off.

"Nah it's just kinda obvious. I'm honored, though, that my porch swing was able to bring you two closer together." Mermista said with a lazy grin.

"Oh gosh," Adora said, extremely embarrassed. She tried to look everywhere but at Mermista.

"Aw I didn't mean to, like, break you or whatever. If it makes you feel better, I think it's adorable and I hope it works out."

"That just makes me feel more embarrassed," Adora replied honestly.

"Oh fine I'll leave you alone. But really though. Go for it." Mermista shot a pair of finger guns at Adora. "See ya later you little lady-killer."

Adora facepalmed and Mermista walked away, laughing to herself.

* * *

Scorpia was putting away her books to go to lunch when Catra walked up behind her and clapped a hand onto her shoulder.

"Confrontation time," Catra said right out of the gate. "You're gonna tell me what's wrong. Or else...I don't know, I'll keep bugging you and it'll be really annoying."

Scorpia twisted around to face Catra. "Nothing's wrong," Scorpia insisted.

"Nope. Lies," Catra responded immediately. "I mean it, man, what's going on with you?"

"Nothing is going on," Scorpia said defensively, feeling a little cornered.

"Scorpia. Come on. Is it my fault? Can you tell me that at least?"

"It's not your fault," Scorpia said quickly, wishing she wasn't having this conversation. She looked down the hallway longing for escape.

"See I'm not sure I buy that though. I don't get what's up. I mean last week you were acting strange too and I just don't know what's been going on. And why you wouldn't just tell me the truth about it."

At this Scorpia's face twisted into a quick frown and she shot a look at Catra. "So I'm supposed to tell you the truth all the time, but you never have to be honest with me?"

"What?" Catra asked, completely surprised that Scorpia was spinning this back into her. It was unlike her to be so upset.

"All you do is keep secrets, Catra. I ask if you wanna hang out a certain day and you say you're gonna be busy doing work at home and then later that day my mom tells me she saw you and Adora walking together in the park. Why couldn't _you_ be honest with me then? Or when you said you had to leave early for an appointment after school and then I see you in a car talking to Bow? I don't even know what that means but regardless, you lied to me about that too."

Catra stared on with wide eyes and her mouth slightly ajar. She had no idea Scorpia had known these things.

Scorpia held her hand to the bridge of her nose and rubbed at her face. "And I'm not dumb. I could tell you didn't want me to workout with you and Adora during weights. I got the same vibe when I asked about joining theater too. But you just told me it was totally alright."

"I…" Catra replied weakly, unable to figure out what to say next.

"You know, Catra...maybe you're the one who needs to be more honest with your friends." Scorpia looked up as she said this and Catra saw the tears filling up her eyes. She shut her locker quickly and rushed past Catra, heading down the hallway without another word.

Catra stood, dazed and confused, watching her friend walk away from her and letting Scorpia's words sink in.

* * *

Catra didn't go to lunch. She didn't wanna be around people right now. The one person she wanted to talk to about this was Adora, but that wasn't an option.

She ended up finding herself at the auditorium doors. She figured it was a good place to be alone. It was always dark and empty.

Catra opened the doors and noticed that only the stage lights were on, leaving the rest of the auditorium in darkness. It was quiet as usual and there didn't seem to be anyone around. Catra shuffled numbly to one of the seats and fell down into it.

She thought back to what Scorpia had said and felt a stinging pang of guilt.

_"I am a liar," _Catra told herself. _"And a bad friend."_

Catra didn't cry often. It had been a while since she had done anything more than slightly tear up. But now she could feel the pressure in her eyes as she clenched her fists and rammed them into her brow.

Scorpia had been her friend for the longest time. And she had always been there for her. And over all the time they had known each other, nothing like this had ever happened. Scorpia had never been so much as annoyed with her.

_"And I deserve it," _Catra reminded herself. She felt a tear streak down her face and she quickly wiped it off.

"Oh...Catra...are you okay?" Came a sudden voice from behind Catra and she jumped visibly, shooting a glare back in the direction of the voice.

Entrapta was standing on the steps coming down from the sound booth and was looking at Catra concernedly.

"What are you doing here?" Catra asked, more than a little anger in her voice, as she quickly turned away and scrubbed her eyes clear.

"Oh…I...this is where I always eat lunch. Up in the booth." Entrapta had stopped approaching Catra and was now just hovering indecisively, unsure if she should leave or not.

Catra grunted and ran her hands through her hair, taking a deep breath. "Why do you do that?"

"Probably the same reason you did. Quiet. No people. I have time to think."

"Well I didn't know you were in here. Maybe warn someone before you go sneaking up on them," Catra advised gruffly. She was thankful that it was dim in the auditorium and hoped Entrapta couldn't see her face in much detail.

"Oh yeah. Noted. I just didn't know who it was and then I figured out it was you and then...well...I was wondering if you required any assistance. I have...some apple slices if…"

"I really don't want your apple slices," Catra huffed.

There was a moment of awkward silence and then Catra shook her head and turned to face Entrapta. "Sorry. I'm being a jerk."

"Oh that's fine," Entrapta said with a wave of her hand.

"It's not really," Catra said with a sigh. "I'll uh... I'll take those apple slices if you aren't gonna eat 'em."

"Oh good. They're a great source of nutrients. And y'know...tasty," Entrapta said as she shuffled down the remaining steps and sat in the seat next to Catra, pulling out what looked like a toolbox. Catra watched as she pulled out a container from within it and handed it to her.

"Thanks," Catra said quietly as she accepted the snack. "Sorry to interrupt your lunch or whatever."

"I don't mind," Entrapta replied. "I'm not working on anything right now so my schedule is flexible."

Catra eyed the strange girl and nodded. There were a few moments of quiet as the girls sat next to each other in the big, darkened room.

Eventually, Catra cleared her throat and spoke up. "So uh...you eat in here everyday?"

"Affirmative," Entrapta answered quickly. "It's the best place for me to do my work or just sit and think."

"I guess," Catra said. "You don't get, like, lonely or anything?"

Entrapta shook her head. "Not really. I find people can be a distraction...Not you though."

"Well I'm honored," Catra said as she chewed on an apple slice. "What about Double Trouble? You two seem pretty close."

"We are for the most part. But we don't really see each other outside of theater practice. We're sort of like...occupational acquaintances."

"So work friends?" Catra clarified.

"That's a way to say it, yes. But I suppose if I had a... friend, it would be them."

Catra frowned slightly in the dark. This discussion was becoming increasingly depressing.

"Well...that's good," Catra said awkwardly.

They spent the rest of lunch sitting next to each other in the auditorium. They continued to make conversation occasionally and Catra was unsure the entire time if Entrapta enjoyed her presence or not.

When the bell finally rang, signalling the end of their lunch period, Catra gave the empty container back to Entrapta. "Thanks for the apples. And for letting me stay here, I guess."

"Of course. If you ever need to get away you're free to come here. You're one of the rare people who I don't mind interrupting me."

Catra figured that for Entrapta, this was a compliment and smiled tiredly at the girl. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. You gonna be at theater practice tonight?" Catra asked as she stood up from her seat.

"Not tonight. Double Trouble and I are still working on the sound and lighting cues. I'll start coming to practice when we have those done."

"Gotcha. Well I'll see you then," Catra said, waving curtly as she walked away.

"See you then!" Entrapta yelled after her.

* * *

Catra didn't have another class with Scorpia for the rest of the day and she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. She really wanted to see her so she could apologize for...everything. On the other hand, though, Catra wasn't sure that Scorpia wanted to see her.

Catra managed to make it through her next class, though she didn't pay much attention. She found herself going towards Adora's locker in between classes, but Adora wasn't there. Scorpia wasn't at her locker either.

Catra started to text Scorpia a long winded apology, but ended up deleting it as she figured it was better to say in person.

Her last class dragged on even longer than usual. Catra barely took her eyes off the clock as she waited eagerly to hopefully smooth things over with Scorpia or at the very least talk things over with Adora and see what she thought about everything.

The second the bell rang, Catra sprung up from her chair and exited the classroom, making her way to Scorpia's locker. She got there early and waited impatiently for her friend to arrive.

She ran through her apology in her head again and prepared to tell Scorpia everything she wanted to know. She waited for a good ten minutes before she realized Scorpia wasn't coming.

She was still waiting when Kyle approached her. "Hey," he said quietly. "You waiting for Scorpia?"

"No I'm just waiting at her locker cuz I like the view," Catra said facetiously before sighing in resignation. "Sorry. Long day."

"I figured when you and Scorpia both skipped lunch. She...uh...she did talk to me just now though."

Catra studied Kyle carefully. "She talked to _you_?"

"Yeah. She asked me to tell you that she's sorry she blew up and she said she doesn't wanna talk about it. Hence...the whole her not being here thing."

"Great. Of course. What about her backpack and stuff?"

"She, uh, she already had it with her," Kyle said awkwardly. "Look I don't really know what all happened between you two, but...I hope it works out. And if you wanna talk ab…"

"Thanks Kyle," Catra interrupted him. "I really don't wanna talk about it. But thank you."

"I figured. Well...at least find someone to talk to. And I'm sure this will blow over soon. You two are too close for anything to get in between you for long."

Catra clung to Kyle's words more than she let on. "I hope you're right Kyle. I'm gonna get to theater practice. Thanks for being Kyle or whatever."

"Uh. Yeah that's me," Kyle said with a smile. "See you later, Catra."

Catra rubbed her eyes wearily and made her way to the auditorium, already deciding that Double Trouble was not going to get a great performance out of her today.

She entered the familiar doors and saw Double Trouble and Adora on the stage talking to one another. They heard the door open and both looked to see her walking up to the stage.

"There she is!" Double Trouble announced. "The one and only!"

Adora clapped for Catra with an amused smile as she stepped up to join them.

"What did I do?" Catra asked, confused.

"You're just great at being your wonderful self," Double Trouble answered. "Adora was telling me about your Halloween costumes and I saw a picture and just _wow_. If you two ever want to help Netossa and Spinnerella with costumes, feel free."

"Sure," Catra said. "And look I'm feeling kinda out of it today, so maybe we just do some more breathing techniques or something."

Adora studied Catra, worry on her face. Double Trouble nodded in consideration. "Well I don't wanna push you too hard. We'll start with some breathing and see where it goes from there."

"Awesome. Thanks," Catra replied. Double Trouble pulled out their notebook and crossed through some things. As they did this, Adora sidled up to Catra and asked if she was okay.

"Just Scorpia stuff. I'm fine. I'll tell you about it later."

"Promise?" Adora asked.

"Promise," Catra replied, managing a small smile as she saw how concerned for her Adora seemed to be. It was nice to have someone who cared so much.

"Okay," Double Trouble said quickly. "Breathing. You know the drill. We'll start with what we d…"

The sound of the doors of the auditorium opening echoed throughout the room and Double Trouble frowned as they lost their train of thought, craning their neck around to see who was entering.

Adora and Catra turned around as well and there was a moment of surprise as they recognized Glimmer and Bow.

Adora's immediate instinct was to hide herself or to hide Catra somehow. She found herself looking around her for somewhere to disappear to, realizing this was foolish as she was on an empty stage.

Catra was nowhere near as panicked as Adora, but she knew this wasn't an ideal situation. "Have you by chance told her yet?" Catra asked Adora quietly.

The look on Adora's face gave Catra the answer she was looking for.

Glimmer and Bow were smiling as they walked in and were talking to each other quietly. However, the second Glimmer caught sight of Catra on the stage her expression changed to confusion followed by a firm glare.

Bow just looked nervous and his eyes darted between the three girls as they stared at each other without speaking.

Double Trouble had no idea what was going on. "Uh...Welcome!" They exclaimed to the newcomers. "Are you two here to watch or to join our lovely th…"

"What are you doing here?" Glimmer addressed Catra with clear hostility, staring her down hatefully and ignoring Double Trouble's words.

"Oh I don't know, maybe just _taking part in the extracurricular that I signed up for_. What are you doing here?" Catra responded, matching Glimmer's aggression. She wasn't in the mood for this.

Glimmer began to walk up to the stage angrily. Bow tried to hold her back, but Glimmer shrugged him off easily and continued forward.

Adora tried to say something, but found that she couldn't.

Catra crossed her arms and held her ground, not breaking eye contact with Glimmer as she marched up to meet her.

Double Trouble still had no idea what was going on. "Ahem. Welcome to the stage! Wou…"

They were cut off once again by Glimmer as she walked up to Catra and stared her down. "Why are you in theater?"

"I appreciate the art form," Catra said with a thin smile.

"You...you knew Adora was in theater, didn't you?" Glimmer asked, her voice firm.

Adora looked between the girls. She hadn't seen either of them this mad. Bow awkwardly walked up onto the stage, keeping his distance. He shot Adora a troubled look and she returned it.

"Of course I knew Adora was in theater. That's the whole reason I joined in the first place." Catra knew in the back of her mind that this was probably not the best way to go about this, but it just felt too good to make Glimmer mad right now.

Glimmer took another step towards Catra. "I told you to leave her alone. She's not putting up with your harassment anymore. You and your friends have messed with her enough."

Catra laughed in Glimmer's face. "Yeah I don't think I _will_ leave her alone though. And to be honest," Catra shot a toothy grin at the furious girl in front of her, "I don't think she wants me to."

Glimmer's eyes widened and she reached up towards Catra, grabbing onto her jacket. Catra laughed at this and it only made Glimmer more angry. "Catra I swear I am gonna…"

"STOP! Stop it!" Adora yelled loudly and everyone on the stage turned to look at her. She looked to be red in the face as she stomped forward and grabbed Glimmer's hands, separating her from Catra's jacket. "We are not going to fight like idiots!"

"But…" Glimmer was confused. "But she…"

"Catra is here because she's... because we're…" Adora looked to Catra and the two shared a deep look. Catra gave Adora a nod of encouragement. "Because we're friends and we wanted to do this together."

Glimmer took a step back, her face morphing into disbelief. Her eyes darted back and forth between the two of them rapidly.

Bow looked on, not sure if he should intervene or not.

"Uhhh," Double Trouble said cautiously. "I'm gonna...go. Practice is cancelled so...see you next week!" They quickly waved to Catra and Adora and then sped off backstage.

The girls barely noticed the frenzied theater director's exit as they stayed frozen in the moment.

Glimmer looked to Adora. "You...are you...are you for real?" She said it almost like a plea, as if hoping it was all a big joke.

Adora tried to maintain eye contact, but couldn't look her friend in the eyes as she turned her head and nodded in silent confirmation.

Glimmer spent a while processing this information. Bow slowly approached Glimmer. "Hey Glim," Bow said slowly. "Let's...uh... let's just take it a little easy."

Glimmer completely ignored Bow. "How long?"

Adora kept her head down shamefully. "A while...since my first week here."

It looked like somebody had punched Glimmer in the abdomen. She frowned deeply. "That seems like something you'd wanna let your best friend know, doesn't it?"

"I…" Adora's voice broke a little. "I was going to tell you! This weekend or…"

"Yeah sure you were!" Glimmer shouted, throwing her arms up. "I bet if I hadn't come in here today I wouldn't have known ever!"

Adora stepped back a little as Glimmer yelled and Catra spoke up. "Leave her alone, Glimmer," she said threateningly as she stepped forward.

"Oh wow! Look at you being all big and protective," Glimmer said mockingly. She was about to make another jeer before she seemed to pause and look between Catra and Adora thoughtfully. She began to slowly shake her head. "Of course! This is just perfect. The fight at the football game and now this..." Glimmer chuckled to herself in disbelief. "You're totally into Adora aren't you?"

Neither of the girls responded and Catra stood her ground.

Glimmer took this as her answer. "Wow. Just wow. Catra, this is just sad. You ruin our relationship and then you decide to bully your way into my foster sister's affections!?"

Adora's jaw dropped. "Hold up, what?"

Glimmer rolled her eyes. "Yeah wow you got me. Secret's out. We dated in middle school. And Catra ruined everything! And now she's trying to get back at me through you, Adora!"

"I am not! You are so full of yourself! You always have been!" Catra yelled back as she took a quick step towards Glimmer. "I could care less about getting back at you!"

"Yeah I doubt that entirely!"

"Yeah you would! My God, you've only gotten more insufferable over time!"

"Yeah and you've become a heartless jerk who picks on anyone smaller than them!"

"You have no idea what I do! You just told Adora that so she'd stay away from me! You lied to her first!"

"That's the truth! I didn't want her near you! You made her first week miserable!"

"Yeah well I've been making every week since that better!"

Bow stepped in between the two girls who were now even closer to each other. "Please can we calm down? If we all just talk about this with level heads we can c…"

"Bow I don't need one of your pep-talks right now," Catra said, not breaking eye contact with Glimmer.

"Don't talk to my friend like that," Glimmer said with a growl.

A wicked idea formed in Catra's head and she snickered delightfully. "Oh. Here's a fun fact for you, Glimmer. You'll love this. Bow and I hang out too. We've gotten to know each other pretty well as a matter of fact."

Glimmer snorted, rolling her eyes in disbelief. "Yeah sure. You and…"

Glimmer stopped dead in her tracks as she looked at Bow and saw the expression on his face.

Glimmer held a fist to her mouth and looked like she was about to explode.

Catra smiled proudly.

"Hold up, what?" Adora asked, extremely overwhelmed by everything that was happening. "Catra you didn't tell me you and Bow…"

Catra turned and looked at Adora, immediately regretting saying what she had said. She opened her mouth to explain but Bow beat her to it.

He looked from Adora to Glimmer with extreme guilt in his eyes. "We were just…it was for a...we were working together on something and...I was gonna tell you, but I figured...I mean I figured this would happen if I did."

Glimmer ran a hand through her hair and looked down at her feet. Everyone was silent. When she looked up again her eyes were filled to the brim with tears and she looked from Bow to Adora. Bow rushed forward to comfort her but she pushed him away.

"So that's it, huh?" Glimmer asked in stunned disbelief. "Both of my frien...both of _you_ decided it would be better to lie to me than to sit down and talk to me and trust me to understand?"

She looked at her friends and they both avoided her gaze guiltily.

Glimmer laughed joylessly. "Wow. Some friends. At least you all have each other now." She wiped her hand across her face as tears began to fall and she quickly turned away, marching down the stairs and heading for the auditorium doors.

"Glimmer wait!" Bow yelled after her. "Glimmer!"

She ignored him as she exited through the doors without looking back. Bow looked to Catra and Adora. He started to say something, but just ended up frowning before he hurried down the steps to try and catch up to Glimmer.

Catra turned to Adora. "Wow. Okay that was r…"

"Catra," Adora interrupted wearily, holding up a hand. "I think that was the worst that could have gone."

"Yeah...I mean there were some flaws for sure," Catra admitted.

"It was all flaws!" Adora exclaimed, scratching at her arm furiously in absent-minded anxiety. "And Catra you did not make it easier at all." Adora shot a hurt look at Catra and Catra immediately felt her heart crumble into thousands of little pieces.

"I know. I'm sorry." Catra rushed to get the words out. "I just...it was Glimmer and we have a lot of... history and she just gets under my skin and then she said things about me and us and I just…" Catra took a breath and Adora sat down on the stage, staring at the floor. Catra sat down as well and continued her apology. "I shouldn't have. I should have let you handle it. I just didn't want her to be angry at you anymore. I'm...I'm sorry, Adora."

Adora pressed her lips together firmly and put her hand up to her temple, massaging it gently. She remained quiet for a few moments before replying.

"Catra…I _want_ to be mad at you," Adora said with a frown. She looked up at Catra and tears began to well in her eyes. "But I can't. I just need you too much right now."

Catra stared at Adora as if nothing else mattered and quickly scooted over to hug the girl. Adora accepted the hug and relished the feeling of Catra's arms wrapping around her. She pressed her face into Catra's shoulder and gently cried as she wondered if her friendship was entirely ruined.

Catra held her tightly, feeling Adora's body tremble gently in her arms. Catra was pretty sure she had some idea what Adora was feeling. She thought about Scorpia and now the mess with Adora's friends. She realized she might need Adora right now just as much as Adora needed her.

Neither of them noticed the auditorium doors open as Bow walked in and saw the small huddle of the two girls clutching one another on the big, empty stage.

He had been going to tell them that he hadn't gotten through to Glimmer and that she had driven off. He knew Adora needed a ride and he assumed Catra probably did too. He figured now that it could wait a bit.

He didn't want to disturb them so he exited back out into the hall and closed the door gently behind him. He shook his head as he slumped to the floor tiredly.

"What in the world have we gotten ourselves into?" Bow asked himself quietly, rubbing some tears from his eyes.

_**You gotta love a chapter where everyone cries. The secret is out. A lot of them in fact! And now we get to see if they can put the pieces back together. It's gonna be angsty and sad for a while now. But I'm definitely gonna have some lighter moments mixed in cuz it's emotionally taxing to just write sad stuff all day. Anyway, thanks for reading and stay healthy!**_


	25. Chapter 25

After a while of enjoying one another's company, Adora and Catra turned off the stage lights for the night and left the auditorium. They were just talking about calling one of Catra's friends to pick them up when they saw Bow sitting up against the wall outside the auditorium doors.

He stood up as he saw them approach. Adora shot him a tired little half-smile and waved.

Bow immediately rushed her and gave her a big hug. She hugged back and took a deep breath.

"Are you okay?" He asked as they slowly broke the hug.

"No," Adora answered honestly.

"Yeah me neither," Bow said quietly. "How are you doing Catra?"

"I...man I'm fine but... I'm just worried about you two."

This interaction between Catra and Bow felt so strange and new to Adora and it reminded her of one of the more surprising details that had been dropped in the heated discussion they had all had just recently.

"Hold up," Adora said, raising up a hand. "So apparently you two know each other?"

Bow and Catra looked at each other and then guiltily turned back to Adora.

"You could say that," Bow answered.

"We were…" Catra started and then looked around them. The school was empty, but Catra was eager to get out of there. "Look. I assume you can give us a ride, Bow?"

"Yeah of course. I don't know how else you'd get home."

"Alright," Catra said with a nod. "We'll tell you about it on the drive. All of it. I'm so done with all this secret garbage."

"Agreed," Bow voiced glumly.

Adora nodded solemnly in agreement and Catra could tell that her and Bow were thinking about Glimmer.

"C'mon, let's get going," Catra said as she ushered the pair towards the front entrance of the school.

They walked quietly out to the lot and all piled into Bow's car. The two girls in the back seats and Bow up front. They sat there for a bit, huddled up in his small car, as Bow turned on the heat.

"So…" Catra said, breaking the silence. "Did anyone else think it was kinda funny that all that happened on a stage? Like...dramatic irony or whatever."

Adora slowly regarded Catra with a deadpan expression and Catra frowned. "Okay...tough crowd. It's a sore subject. Anyway. Do we wanna just hash this all out now?"

"I'm…actually kind of worn out," Adora answered honestly. "I'm not sure how many more big surprises I can handle."

"I entirely agree with that," Bow chipped in. "I'm having a hard time coming up with something positive to say."

Catra breathed a sigh of relief. "Well thank goodness. I was not looking forward to that at all. We do need to talk though."

"We do," Adora affirmed. "And we need to talk to Glimmer too."

Catra laughed bluntly and Bow sucked air in through his teeth nervously.

"What?" Adora asked.

"You haven't seen Glimmer mad," Catra answered, a far off look in her eyes.

"I gotta agree with her on that," Bow said forlornly. "When Glimmer gets mad she _stays _mad. And I doubt she'll wanna talk to any of us about anything any time soon. But we can always try?"

Adora groaned, regretting everything. Literally everything. "Great. Man this sucks. And on top of that I'm probably gonna have to be the one to ask her."

"Well...I can text her and call and stuff," he answered supportively. "But she might block me honestly."

"Yeah well I have to live with her," Adora worried to herself frantically. "It's gonna be so weird. She's gonna hate me. She's gonna be all weird. Dinner will be weird. So awkward. It'll be all quiet and nobody will talk and it will just be the sounds of passive aggressive chewing and t…"

"Okay, Adora, you're spiraling," Bow said as he turned around to face her in the back seat.

Catra put her cold hand on Adora's shoulder and gently squeezed.

Adora looked to both of them, wordlessly pleading them both for help with what to do.

"You have Angella," Bow suggested. "She'll be super supportive!"

"Oh yeah," Catra agreed, nodding her head. "She's a quality mom."

Adora looked to Catra, confused, before remembering that her and Glimmer had been friends. Well apparently they had been more than friends. Adora managed to force that somewhat disturbing thought out of her mind and refocused on the present.

"Here's what I think we should do," Bow said as he got tired of stretching around in his chair and instead turned to face them, propping his knees up on the car seat. "We ask Glimmer if she wants to meet up and talk tomorrow. With all of us. Probably won't happen."

"Definitely won't happen," Catra agreed.

Adora buried her face in her hands.

"And then regardless of if she says yes or not," Bow continued, "we meet up somewhere and talk. We clearly have some catching up to do. And if Glimmer stays mad we're gonna have to come up with a good way to deal with that."

"Which I'm sure we will do," Catra added, trying to raise Adora's spirits.

"Nice enthusiasm, Catra," Bow congratulated the girl.

"Yeah that's a good idea," Adora responded. "I just hope we can all sit down and have a civil conversation and just get everything out on the table."

"Well I promise I will do better next time," Catra assured Adora. "I had a long day and Glimmer was just getting on my nerves in there. But I won't do it again. Really I won't."

"Thanks," Adora said sincerely. Adora hadn't even gotten to talk to Catra before everything had gone down. She had mentioned Scorpia. Adora hoped everything was going alright.

Bow looked at Adora and Catra and thought about the two of them. He had to admit that despite his enthusiasm when Catra had first told him about the forbidden romance between them, he had definitely had his doubts. But now, as he watched them comforting one another, he could sense a real connection between the two.

_"At least that's one good thing to come out of today_," Bow considered as he turned back around in his seat, buckled in, and started to drive away.

The car ride was pretty quiet. It wasn't exactly tense but there was definitely something on everyone's mind.

Bow was planning to drop Catra off first as her house was closer, but she insisted on waiting so she could see Adora off. Bow thought this was cute and happily obliged.

When they made it to Adora's house they could see Glimmer's car parked sloppily on the curb. Bow pulled up beside the house and parked, looking back to Adora and giving her a supportive look.

Adora attempted to smile back. She looked out at the house and realized that she had a familiar feeling creeping up on her. She hadn't felt like this since she had first moved in. She felt unwelcome.

Catra saw the turmoil in her eyes and wished that there was more she could do. "Hey it's gonna be alright. Maybe you'll have one awkward night. Possibly two. But then she's bound to come around. I mean, she kinda has to. You two live together."

Adora nodded but she wasn't convinced.

"Glimmer's been mad at me before," Bow said in reassurance. "I mean not this mad, but… Anyway, she probably won't talk to us for a while and then she'll probably make some underhanded comments. Those are the worst. And then after that she burns herself out and starts to get better. That's how it's gone in the past."

"And I'll be around whenever you need me," Catra said.

"She means _we _will be around whenever you need _us_," Bow interjected.

"And that goes for either of you two," Adora said. "I mean sure I have to live with her while this is all happening, but you two are going through a lot too. I mean, honestly, Bow I'm surprised you're holding up so well."

"Well I'm holding it in until I get home and then I'm gonna cry for a few hours straight," Bow said in resignation.

Adora put her hand on Bow's and patted it gently. "It'll be okay. We're still the best friend squad."

"Woah you guys have a name?" Catra asked, barely able to keep from chuckling in spite of the situation.

They ignored her and Adora started to open the car door. She turned back to them. "Text me. Let's make one of those group chats or whatever. I'll let you know what Glimmer says about tomorrow."

Both of them nodded in response. "Good luck," Catra said, wishing they had more time to talk.

Adora shot her a thankful look and turned to leave.

"Good luck! Keep us updated!" Bow yelled after her as she left the car.

The pair watched her walk towards the house and up to the front door. She stalled for a bit before entering.

"You think she'll be okay?" Catra asked as they watched the door close behind her.

"Yeah I do. This whole thing probably hit her harder than any of us. Except Glimmer I guess. But Adora is one of the toughest people I know. I'm not actually sure there's something out there that she couldn't handle."

* * *

Adora walked in and instantly saw Glimmer's backpack on the floor. It was in the middle of the living room and looked like it had been flung off in a hurry.

Adora looked upstairs and saw that Glimmer's door was shut. She slowly walked up the steps to her room. As she approached the door, she heard a sound coming from Glimmer's room and strained to hear what it was.

As she took another step towards the door, she stepped on a squeaky floorboard and it groaned under her weight. The sound stopped immediately.

Adora sighed and walked up to the door, knocking gently. There was no reply.

"Glimmer?" Adora said gently. "It's me. Can we talk?"

Adora waited a bit for a response, but she didn't hear anything. She realized the lights were off in the room. After waiting for a while longer she tried again.

"Glimmer I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have lied and I should have trusted you. I messed up. I just...I just wanna talk about it."

Adora waited a while longer. The only sound she heard was a brief shuffling from within.

"Please?" Adora asked, trying one last time to get through to her foster sister.

She received no response and realized it was hopeless trying to talk to her right now. "Okay. I'm gonna be in my room with the door open. If you ever wanna talk…please let me know."

Adora wasn't expecting a response and she didn't get one. She walked over to her own room in defeat. The first thing she saw as she entered her room was the big mural that her and Glimmer had made after their fishing trip.

Adora frowned and laid down in her bed, staring up at the ceiling as tears formed in her eyes.

* * *

Angella got home from work just over an hour later. She kicked off her shoes and let out a sigh of relief, glad to be home.

"Happy Friday!" Angella yelled up to the girls. She didn't get a response. "I was thinking we could have Chinese tonight! From that place we like that gives us, like, a million fortune cookies!"

Angella didn't hear anything back and she craned her neck, looking upstairs to see Adora's door open and Glimmer's closed.

Angella usually greeted them both when she got home and asked how their day was. She also usually got a more enthusiastic greeting.

After some deliberation, she went and put her bag down on the dining table before heading upstairs. She saw the lights were off in Glimmer's room and figured she had fallen asleep.

She knocked on Adora's door frame as she peeked in. Adora was laying on her bed, facing the ceiling. She was clutching a pillow to her chest and had headphones on.

Adora saw Angella out of the corner of her eye and sat up excitedly, thinking it was Glimmer, but soon realized it wasn't.

Angella noticed the look of excitement-turned-disappointment and raised an eyebrow. "Are you doing alright, Adora?"

Adora looked confused briefly and then quickly took off her headphones. "What'd you say? Sorry I was listening to music."

Angella could hear the music blasting from the headphones all the way from where she stood. It sounded sad. "You really shouldn't listen to music that loud. You'll ruin your ears."

"You're right. Sorry," Adora said with a solemn nod, turning the volume down.

"Well you don't have to apologize, I didn't...are you okay?" Angella noticed Adora was acting a little odd and watched her concernedly.

Adora saw Angella studying her and bit her bottom lip nervously. "Not really."

Angella quickly covered the ground between them and sat down next to Adora on her bed, resting a hand on her upper back. "Oh sweetie, what's wrong?"

"I...Glimmer found out. About me and Catra."

"Ah," Angella replied slowly, understanding the situation a lot better now. "I imagine that didn't go well."

"It really didn't," Adora said worriedly. "I should have just told her right after you told me to. I should have done it way earlier. I mean, she probably would have been upset, but it'd be so much better than this."

Angella began to rub Adora's back in an attempt to soothe the girl, who was getting very worked up. Angella could tell this wasn't easy for her. And judging by Glimmer's closed door it wasn't easy for her either.

"Well at least you did tell her," Angella reasoned. "You couldn't control the outcome."

Adora looked up at Angella guiltily.

"Oh no. You didn't tell her did you?"

"No she found out!" Adora said in exasperation.

"Well that is a problem," Angella admitted. "How did she take it?"

"She took it how anyone would. I mean all of her friends lied to her."

"All of her friends?"

"Yeah apparently Bow and Catra had also been hanging out or something. I'm not sure on that one yet. It was awful."

"Oh my," Angella said, surprised at how badly the situation had gone.

"And now Glimmer won't talk to me or Bow. How are we supposed to apologize if she won't talk to us? It's all a mess. And it's my fault."

"It is _not_ your fault, Adora," Angella said calmly but firmly. "You are free to spend time with whoever you want. Including Catra. Now...should you have told Glimmer about it? Probably yes. But it's too late for that now. Things happen how they happen. Now you just need to work on getting past it. And not by blasting sad music into your ears."

"You're right," Adora agreed. "But what do I do?"

"Honestly, I think for now you should give Glimmer some space. It's hard, but if you keep pushing her to talk it'll only make her more upset. Give it time."

Adora didn't like the answer, but she figured if anyone could give her the best advice on the matter, it was Angella. "Alright I'll try. I just feel so bad about it."

"Try not to. It was just a difficult situation all around. I'll go talk to her and see how she's doing. You just take it easy. And don't worry about it. It'll all work out." Angella moved her hand to Adora's head and patted her gently.

"I hope so. Thanks."

"Of course," Angella replied as she got up from the bed and slowly left Adora's room. She walked a few steps to Glimmer's door and knocked.

"It's mom," Angella said. "Can we talk?"

She was met with silence. For a few moments, she thought that Glimmer was pushing her away as well, but then she heard a shuffling sound and footsteps approaching the door.

The door opened and Glimmer peered up at her mother from her darkened room, her face red and puffy from tears.

"Oh, honey," Angella said, immediately concerned. "Can I come in?"

Glimmer opened the door wider and let her mother in before shutting it behind them.

Adora could vaguely hear them talking in the other room. She couldn't make out words but Glimmer sounded hurt.

Adora put her headphones back on, cranking the volume back up again to drown it all out.

* * *

"I know it's a little public, but there are little rooms in the back where nobody ever goes. I figured it'd be a good place to talk," Bow said, eyeing the old building that he, Adora, and Catra now stood in front of.

"You know, I assumed we'd go to, like, your house or something, but this honestly feels more on-brand for you," Catra said impressively.

"Well his dads run the library," Adora explained and Bow nodded.

"You can finally meet them too!" Bow said to Adora.

Under normal circumstances Adora would be more excited, but in light of everything it wasn't exactly enough to make her day.

"Wow. Your dads own a library?" Catra asked as the group made their way into the old brick building.

"Yep. Only library in town! It's kind of a family thing. Passed down through time and stuff. My grandpa passed it down to Lance, my dad, and now him and George run it."

The inside of the library was a new sight to Adora and Catra, who had never been here before. It looked how most libraries probably looked. It felt kind of vintage and cozy with warm lights and tall aisles of books in snug formations. There were a few reading areas with tables and chairs and there were computers set up at desks around the library.

Bow led the girls to the front desk where an older woman behind the counter waved to Bow. "Good morning, Bow. It's so nice to see you. Are these your friends?"

"Good morning, Heather! Yeah they are. We were gonna go to one of the back rooms. Are my dads here?"

"You just missed 'em," the woman replied kindly. "They went on an early lunch. But they should be back before too long."

"Awesome. Thank you," Bow said politely as he waved Adora and Catra behind the counter and they walked through a closed door. There was a small but well utilized space with two desks in the first room.

"This is where my dads work usually. And through here," Bow said as he opened another door, "is the storage room!"

The moment the door opened, the strong smell of old books wafted out. Catra grimaced at the familiar odor.

The three of them walked into the room and saw that it was dimly lit and crammed from floor to ceiling with boxes upon boxes of books. There was a thin walkway available that led to what was almost a clearing of sorts in the middle of the forest of book filled containers.

They made their way in single file to the cleared out space and Bow sat them down on the carpet, which was surprisingly comfortable.

"This is so cool," Adora said, looking around at the little area.

"Yeah," Bow said fondly. "I used to spend all day back here doing homework and reading."

"Wow. The nerd level in here has got to go down a few notches because I'm feeling uncomfortable," Catra said with a snort.

Adora smiled at Catra's comment. She realized it was something Glimmer would have said too. They were actually very similar, Catra and Glimmer. Adora could see why they used to be...close.

"So…" Adora said. "There's some stuff I gotta know. For one, and this has been driving me crazy, you and Glimmer." She pointed to Catra. "How?"

Catra winced and thought about how to go about being cripplingly honest. She had not been looking forward to this meeting today and had only gotten a few hours of sleep due to her nerves.

Bow leaned forward. "You know, Glimmer never really told me much about you two either. We kinda became best friends after you and her split up."

Catra took a pointer finger into her mouth and began to bite at it. Adora reached out and gently grasped Catra's hand, pulling it back down to her side and stopping her from chewing her nails.

"You're gonna tear 'em up even worse if you keep doing that," Adora scolded her calmly.

"Okay Mom," Catra said, rolling her eyes.

"Anyway, back to the story," Adora said impatiently.

Catra groaned and squirmed a little bit where she sat. "I just...man I don't like talking about it. And neither does Glimmer clearly. I would've told you, Adora, but I just wanted to, like, leave it in the past, y'know?"

"And I would've told you, but I didn't wanna upset Glimmer by bringing it up again," Bow explained.

Adora nodded. "Yeah you two dodged me for a while with that. Man. Well...Catra if you're really uncomfortable about it you don't have to give us any details. I mean it."

"No I want to," Catra said decisively, surprising even herself with her words. "I'm so _sick_ of not being upfront with everyone. So here we go. The whole thing."

Adora and Bow watched on and listened like they were children being told a new story.

"Oh boy. Glimmer and I met in middle school. I'm not sure exactly when but sometime in seventh grade I think. It was at lunch. I think I stole her corn dog or something and I remember we got mad at each other and got sent to the office. We had to do that dumb thing in the movies where you write something a lot of times in a row. And we were in the same room and we thought it'd be funny if we slipped random words in among all the repeated phrases." Catra shook her head. "Wow this is embarrassing."

"Nobody's judging," Adora said sincerely and Bow nodded.

"Yeah I think that's adorable actually," Bow admitted. "Keep going, keep going."

Catra scowled at Bow but continued. "Well we kinda hit it off after that and became friends somehow. And that was actually pretty fun. Like, I don't long for Glimmer's presence and reminisce about the past, but we were definitely really close." Catra sighed and looked down at the hem of her jeans as she began to pick at a loose string. "And you know. I was already very...aware that I was into girls. Glimmer was...less aware. And now I think she's openly bi so I'm happy she figured it out or whatever." Catra coughed awkwardly, her eyes shifted around but stayed trained on the floor. "But basically, we were friends for a while. And then I...gosh...I was young and dumb and you know how middle school is. I wanted to, um, progress things with Glimmer. She didn't. I kept pushing for some reason. Eventually she gave in and said we could try it out. Well actually she said we could give it a 'test run' because she didn't wanna ruin our friendship."

Bow and Adora looked on with wide eyes. Bow had never known these details before now and this was entirely new to Adora, whose mind was being blown.

"I was just happy that she said yes. So I went along with it. And it was weird in hindsight. She wanted to keep it on the down low so it was kind of a secret I guess. She never told, like, anybody at school. She never told her mom. I...may have bragged to my parents but Glimmer never knew that. I was happy at first, but then it got weird. I mean she got so...different. It felt kind of like we had traded friendship for something worse. Which is not what I had wanted. So I confronted her about it. And she got upset. And I accused her of being, I don't know, ashamed of me or...ashamed of us or something. It was a long time ago. And we fell out a bit. We both knew it was weirder now but we were too scared to, like, end things. And I think…" Catra paused. "...I think we both maybe wanted it to work out still. But we were young and just so stupid. And she wasn't comfortable with herself just yet. And I was mad and my parents were fighting a lot at the time and I was spiralling and so...I sort of...kind of...started seeing this other girl. Uh...without exactly telling Glimmer."

Catra looked visibly ashamed at this and scrunched her legs up to her chest. It looked like she was trying to recede into a shell that wasn't there.

"So she found out. Duh. I think I wanted her to. And she was understandably upset. I told her that it didn't even matter because we were barely real anyway. It escalated. She said some...hurtful things. And I probably did too. And then she said she never wanted to talk to me again. And I agreed. And uh...well, you know the rest."

Catra stayed curled up, holding herself tightly. Adora could tell that this was hard for her. Being so open. Especially about something she clearly still felt bad about.

There was a long period of silence where Bow and Adora just kind of processed everything. It was almost absolutely quiet in the back room they sat in, surrounded by all the mountains of books.

Eventually Adora scooted over next to Catra and sat next to the girl. She put a hand on her shoulder.

"Thanks for sharing all that," Adora said genuinely. She squeezed Catra's shoulder lightly and instantly saw Catra loosen up just a little.

"I mean. That's why we're here I guess," Catra responded. She had actually been most scared about what Adora would think of her. She had _technically _cheated on Glimmer. And while it wasn't super serious and it had only been middle school, Catra had never shared that with anyone who hadn't already known. And that was only Scorpia, Lonnie, and Glimmer. She was still ashamed of it though. And she had been scared Adora would be troubled by it too. But as she studied Adora's face she couldn't find any hint of disgust or disappointment. It was just a familiar supportive look that Catra had grown to love.

"Well it's a big deal to tell us both something so personal," Adora countered.

"It really is, Catra," Bow agreed. "I'm actually kind of sorry that we asked you to tell us about it."

Catra shrugged. "Well. I might as well tell you. Get it off my chest and everything. Anyway you two probably should know at least some of it. I thought Glimmer would've told you."

"Well she didn't really," Bow explained. "But from the second I met her she was telling me that you were bad news."

"Same actually," Adora seconded.

"Yeah," Catra said forlornly. "That still hurt a bit. Granted, I had a rough patch that started around that time and lasted for way too long. I don't wanna blame it on anything cuz it's my fault, but I wasn't doing so well. At home or school or really anywhere. And I was, uh…a jerk I guess."

Bow gasped lightly. "Was it you who egged Glimmer's house that one time?"

Catra snickered. "Possibly," she said with a suspicious grin before she returned to a serious expression. "But I turned it around. I really did. And I've been proud of myself for a while now. I get better grades and I'm nicer to people. I care more just in general."

"Does Glimmer know that?" Adora asked.

"Probably. But she wouldn't admit it. Hence her telling you I was bad news back before you even started school here."

"Well," Adora said decisively. "I'm glad I didn't listen."

Catra shot a grin at Adora and as Adora grinned back, dimples flaring up, Catra found it surprisingly and overwhelmingly difficult not to kiss her right then and there.

Bow watched the two and smiled to himself knowingly.

"But I get why Glimmer is mad still," Catra explained. "And I'm still a little hung up on it too. Clearly. Yesterday didn't go that well."

"Yeah it really didn't," Bow agreed. "By the way, how was Glimmer?"

Adora inhaled slowly. "Not...ideal. She didn't leave her room all night. Angella had to bring dinner to her. And I don't know if she has, like, bucket in there or what, but I swear she never even left to go to the bathroom."

"Wow," Bow said almost reverently. "Man. We messed up."

Adora nodded in response.

"Well I don't know," Catra objected. "She doesn't own you two. You can talk to whoever you want. Why should you have to report to her every time you talk to someone she doesn't approve of?"

"Well I think it was more that we clearly didn't trust her with it enough to tell her," Adora said. "But I get what you're saying."

"Yeah. It was a bit of a bomb to drop. And you were there. And it was kind of a double whammy," Bow explained.

"Yeah speaking of the double whammy," Adora mentioned. "How in the world did you two meet? And why didn't I know about this?"

"Oh…" Bow said. "Well...hmmm…see that's..."

"I'll take this one," Catra said, keeping the boy from falling all over himself. "That was on me. All me. Bow definitely would have told you, but I sort of urged him not to."

"Why?" Adora asked, confused.

"Well…" Catra scratched the back of her head. "This is weird. Uh. Man. Jesus, it's hot back here."

"I'm kinda cold actually," Bow answered honestly and Catra shot him a deadly look.

Adora continued to look on questioningly.

"Well basically, I went and talked to Bow...after I met you, Adora. To, uh, to ask about...you. Which sounds just super creepy in hindsight, but I really honestly just...uh...liked you and wanted to know more about you." Catra shot this explanation out quickly and hoped Adora wouldn't question her further.

Bow was extremely proud of Catra for being so honest. He didn't expect her to tell Adora _every_ detail, but this was definitely the right thing to do. He was glad that she was finally doing it.

Adora let this new information sink in. Several pieces of the puzzle began to fit together. "And Frosta was part of that too?"

Now it was Catra's turn to be surprised. "You...you knew about that?"

Adora chuckled. "I mean yeah I'm not sure how you were planning on keeping Frosta quiet. She doesn't really do that."

"Oh man," Catra said, suddenly very self conscious and wondering how much Adora knew. "Yeah. That was me. And...and Perfuma and Mermista too. It was all a mistake, honestly. I'm sorry. Like, really sorry. I shouldn't have pried. Or gone behind your back."

"I mean...probably not," Adora said and Catra's heart dropped a little bit. "But," she continued slowly, "I get it."

Catra looked surprised at this. "You do?"

"Yeah. I mean. It seems a little, uh…"

"Awkward and unnecessary? Borderline obsessive?" Bow suggested and Catra shot him another look.

Adora laughed. "Yes. That. But also...I mean…" Adora trailed off and wondered if she should tell Catra about how she felt. Not that this was really a great time. She looked over at Bow and made up her mind. "I get that when you're trying to make, like, a friend or whatever, you want to maybe get more...uh, information about them."

"Yes!" Catra exclaimed, jumping quickly to the defense of her actions. "I just wanted to know more about the new kid cuz and I took some back roads to get there."

"I mean, you could have just asked me," Adora said.

"I...should have. But I'm bad at the whole...expressing my feelings thing. And you were...I don't know. I really wanted us to…"

Adora understood what Catra was trying to say. "I get it. I wanted us to work out too."

Catra smiled over at Adora, glad that she seemed to feel the same way. There was a lot between them that they both knew they needed to sort out. What a bad time for everything to blow up with their friends.

"Well," Adora said, thinking over everything they had talked about. "That's a whole lot of questions answered. Now it's just Glimmer. Angella said that it's best if we just let her simmer for a while.

"I agree," Bow said. "The hard part will be not talking to her during school." Bow frowned. "And lunch will be weird. And we won't get to pass notes in our math class. And…"

"Bow stop," Catra advised him quickly.

"Okay," he said defeatedly, rubbing tears out of the corner of his eyes.

"Angella said after talking to her that she's alright. I mean she's sad. And mad. But alright. And she'll come around. We'll just keep letting her know we're sorry about keeping so much a secret and eventually she has to forgive us."

"You're right," Bow said. "I just hope that sh…"

Bow was interrupted by the sound of the storage room door opening. All three teens looked over towards the door, which they couldn't actually see as their view was blocked by the stacks of boxes.

"Bow? Are you back here?" A calm voice crept out from behind the boxes.

"Maybe," Bow answered and a laugh came from the doorway.

"You've spent more time in here than any of these old books," the voice said as the speaker walked around the corner and saw the gathering in the room.

He was tall and lean with long black dreads and a relaxed pair of reading glasses that rested on the bridge of his nose. He wore a cozy looking fleece shawl and he had a big smile on his face as he noticed Catra and Adora with his son.

"Oh! You have your friends over! I didn't mean to interrupt. It's nice to meet you both! My name's Lance. I'm sure you know, but I'm the dad of this beautiful boy," Lance said warmly.

"Daaad," Bow complained, a grin on his face as he knew his father was trying to embarrass him on purpose.

"I'm Catra. Bow's...friend," Catra stalled a bit as she realized that her and Bow really were actually friends now. What a strange world.

"Well it's lovely to meet you Catra. You two are welcome to come by the house or here anytime." He turned his attention to Adora.

"I'm Adora. Nice to meet you," she said with a small smile.

"Oh, you're the Adora I've heard so much about!" Lance exclaimed excitedly. "Bow has talked very highly of you. It's great to finally meet you."

Adora raised her eyebrows, flattered and looked over at Bow. He just smiled sweetly at her.

"Yeah we just needed a place to hang out for a while so I figured we'd linger back here for a while," Bow told his father.

"Of course, of course," Lance said. He began to say something else when another voice came from the other room.

"Honey, is Bow back there!?"

Lance smiled and rolled his eyes. "Yeah he and his friends are back here!" He yelled back.

"Do they want any leftovers!?" The voice came again.

Lance turned to the group. "You kids want some food?"

"What is it?" Bow asked.

"Quesadillas from that food truck," Lance answered.

There was a resounding yes from all three of the teens and Lance chuckled.

"Yeah they're definitely on board!" Lance yelled back.

There was a pause and then the voice came again. "Do they have any allergies?!"

Lance sighed. "Do you girls have any allergies?"

"As long as there aren't any bees involved," Adora said with a childish grin directed at Catra.

Catra groaned in response and mumbled something.

Lance nodded approvingly and shouted back. "No they're good!"

"Do they want salsa?!" Came the reply.

Lance began to answer before stopping himself. "This is ridiculous," he muttered. "George, honey, just bring the quesadillas!"

George headed back to the now crowded storage room and introduced himself to the girls before offering them some quesadillas. George and Lance offered to take them out for a real lunch, but Bow declined and said they were gonna sit and talk for a little longer.

George and Lance gave them their space and left the room.

"Well they seem pretty great," Catra said with a smile as she devoured a quesadilla.

"Catra, Jesus," Adora said as she looked around for napkins. "You're getting stuff all over yourself."

Catra looked down and noticed the mess she had made. "Oh wow." She went back to eating.

Adora gave up on finding something to clean her up with and settled back with a sigh, resting her back up against a pile of boxes. "They did seem cool though."

Bow nodded. "Yeah they're pretty great. Maybe a little...restrictive? But still pretty great."

"How are they restrictive?" Catra asked with a mouthful of food. She remembered that Adora was there and regretted her bad manners, but when she shot a glance at Adora, the girl just smiled back at her.

"Well," Bow said. "It's not...I mean they're great. But they just have, like, expectations and stuff. They want me to fit into a role they've kinda crafted for me my whole life. Which I guess is unavoidable when you have thirteen kids."

Catra whistled impressively. "That's way more than anyone even needs, right?"

"Probably," Bow agreed with a grin.

"What do they have planned for you?" Adora asked.

Bow rolled his eyes. "Little Bow has always been the kid who will stick around and take over the library for my dads. Which, I mean, I like books and stuff. But I don't wanna run a library. And I don't wanna live here my whole life."

"Well…" Adora said slowly. "Have you told them that?"

Bow pondered the question and then shook his head. "Not seriously."

Catra gestured at the boy. "Well there's your problem. You gotta own that stuff. Just march into their office and say, 'Dads, I don't wanna run this old place.'"

Bow frowned. "I dunno. It's not that easy. I always figured I'd tell 'em when I graduated."

"Bow, I think the sooner you tell them, the better it'll be," Adora suggested. "I mean I have no idea, but it sounds like you have aspirations and if I were a parent I'd wanna know that."

Catra nodded her agreement. "And they clearly love you a ton."

"And that," Adora agreed.

Bow looked between his friends. "I'll think about it. Man. We need to have talks like this all the time. We've thrown like a million things out into the open in just one afternoon."

"I say we _don't_ do them often," Catra stated.

"Maybe we should just get better at telling each other things," Adora suggested. "It's something we could all use some work on. Except maybe Bow."

"I just like talking about my feelings," the boy admitted with a grin. "And I like helping my friends." After Bow said friends, his smile faltered a little bit and Adora could tell that he was thinking about Glimmer.

"We're all gonna help each other out," Adora assured her friend.

"Yeah and I'm part of this too now so that's triple the friend help or whatever," Catra said, glad that she was there with them.

The three hung out for a while longer in that little back room and got used to the feeling of all being together.

* * *

Adora opened her front door and instantly locked eyes with Glimmer, who was sitting on a stool in the kitchen.

They stared at each other for just a brief moment before Glimmer got up from her stool and quickly began making her way upstairs.

"Glimmer!" Adora yelled after her. "Please don't ignore me. I just wanna talk!"

Glimmer stopped about halfway up the steps, but didn't turn around. "Why talk to me when you've gotten to hang out with your new friend group all day?"

"I...it wasn't like that...we were actually trying to figure out how to make things better between us."

Glimmer was walking up the steps again before Adora had even finished what she was saying.

"Glimmer! Just give me a chance! I just want…" She was cut off by the slamming of Glimmer's bedroom door. "...to talk."

* * *

The second Adora had left Bow's car, he turned around in his seat and looked at Catra, who was sprawled across the back seats.

"Okay for one, put on your seatbelt," Bow said sternly.

Catra snorted at the demand, but sat up anyway and buckled herself in.

"And now that that's out of the way," Bow said excitedly. "We need to talk about how freaking adorable you and Adora are!"

"Let's not and say we did," Catra said, smiling at her friend's enthusiasm.

"Oh c'mon!" Bow whined. "This whole thing with Glimmer has got me in a funk and the only thing I have to look forward to is you two being cute together."

Catra shook her head and looked out her window. "Are we actually cute together?" She asked tentatively.

"Uh, duh," Bow said, adjusting his hair in the mirror before pulling away and heading towards Catra's house. "Oh my gosh. You two were _all _over each other at the library. Like there was stuff going on."

Catra tried not to let on that she was as excited about this as Bow was. "I mean maybe, yeah. So. You think she was, like, receptive and stuff?"

"Oh for sure," Bow nodded. "She's stricken. I'm not sure what happened with that other girl, but whatever you did must've worked."

Catra felt her chest fill up with nerves and excitement. "You know I was starting to think that too, but I just wasn't sure. But now. I mean, it's definitely getting more real."

Catra watched as Bow squirmed excitedly in his seat.

"I'm so happy for you two. Oh my gosh you have to break the tension. Just go for the kill."

"The kill?"

"Yeah, you know, the kill. You gotta tell her how you feel in a beautiful display of love and affection. Or at least have a nice date or something."

Catra thought to herself. "A date. Where...uh...where would you recommend?"

"For a date? Anywhere. Well not anywhere. Somewhere sweet. Meaningful. Like it could literally be your house, but just light a candle and make her dinner or something."

"I don't know if I own a candle," Catra muttered.

"I'll lend you a candle," Bow said quickly.

"Okay," Catra said, now seriously planning things. "I was thinking...I might, y'know, ask her to the Fall Formal?"

"Oh my god," Bow said. "Yes. One hundred times yes. That would be perfect!"

"Oh good. That's good," Catra said excitedly. "Should we do something else that night? Like go somewhere before the dance? Or after?"

"Yeah sure! You could go somewhere to eat! She likes the outdoors so maybe a picnic or something? Maybe see a nice movie? Countless options."

Catra thought about it, already brainstorming ideas. "Well we already did a picnic," Catra said dismissively. "And movies are too long, but maybe if…"

"Hold up," Bow said, interrupting her. "You guys had a picnic?"

"Uh... yeah," Catra answered, unsure where this was going.

Bow got quiet and suddenly pulled over down a side street and into the parking lot of a gas station.

"Bow?" Catra questioned. "Do you need gas or…" She trailed off and waited for a response.

Bow turned off the car and put his hand to his brow. "Catra, my dear," he said slowly. "Did you, by chance, go roller-skating before this picnic?"

Catra sat forward in her seat and leaned toward the front of the car. "Yeah. What. How do you know that?"

She saw that Bow was shaking his head slowly and she began to hear laughter coming from the boy.

"Bow, do I need to call somebody?" Catra asked, concerned by his antics.

"Oh my god, that little liar," Bow said to himself. "I should've known."

"What? Who? What?" Catra was very lost.

"Catra," Bow said as he turned to face her with a big smile on his face. "It's you, Catra! Oh man. It's been you since the very beginning!"

"It's...I'm...what?" Catra was still entirely lost by Bow's words.

"Adora told me forever ago that there was somebody, a girl, that seemed to be interested in her. She wasn't sure how to feel about it, so she asked me about how to tell if this person was actually into her," Bow explained, barely able to contain himself. "She said it wasn't someone I knew. That threw me off. And she never told me a single detail as to who it was. I figured a friend of hers and I definitely wouldn't have guessed you. No offense…"

Catra was starting to see where this was going and she listened intently as Bow continued.

"Well over time she confided in me that she was starting to feel things for this same person. And she did tell me one thing a while back. She told me, very specifically, that her and this mystery girl...went roller-skating and then picnicked together." Bow stopped and watched as his words settled over Catra.

Catra was momentarily stunned and her brain felt fuzzy as she tried to draw all the connections together. "I...woah," she finally choked out.

"Catra there never was another girl!" Bow exclaimed. "She was talking about you! And I really should have known. Gosh it was right there the whole time. I'm a terrible spy."

"Woah," Catra repeated. "Me. Man, the whole time?"

"The whole time," Bow affirmed.

A dumb grin spread over Catra's face and she fell back into her seat, spreading her arms wide and feeling a massive wave of relief wash over her. "It was me!" Catra exclaimed suddenly, excited by the revelation.

"It was you!" Bow yelled back, matching her level.

"I'm the secret admirer! I _was_ a secret admirer and now I'm _the _secret admirer! And it's not even a secret!"

"You never had a thing to worry about!"

"Whoohoo!" Catra exclaimed, pumping her fists into the air. "Suck it, world!"

Bow laughed loudly at this and the friends continued to celebrate together.

Everybody who walked by Bow's car in that gas station on that Saturday afternoon heard muffled shouts and laughter from inside the car, and could see a couple of teenagers jumping around like idiots.

* * *

Later that night, Catra was in a great mood. So much so that even the issue she was facing with Scorpia didn't faze her.

She picked up her phone and sent a message over to Scorpia. 'Can we hang out tomorrow? You and me? I want to tell you everything. You deserve it.'

Catra plopped down on her bed, still satisfied from earlier in the day. She played her guitar for a bit and was really getting into it when she heard her phone buzz.

She picked it up and read the message from Scorpia.

'Tomorrow sounds good. We do need to talk.'

Catra smiled to herself and felt good about the situation for once. She would just tell Scorpia about Adora and how she had been lying and sneaking around because she was really into her and everything would go back to normal.

And then Glimmer would come around eventually and then Adora would be happy and then the dance and then…

Catra sighed contentedly. "Catra and Adora," she whispered quietly. Just saying it aloud made her smile. She liked the sound of them together.

_**Hey guys! These last two chapters have been so great for getting all these secrets out! I feel like I've been holding them in with the characters sometimes! Anyway Catra and Adora are adorable. Finally met Bow's dads. Serious friendship fractures and young love trying to persevere through it all. So fun to write. And thank you all for reading and enjoying it! I really really really hope you all stay safe and healthy and I hope you all have a great week.**_


	26. Chapter 26

It was raining hard on Sunday morning. The kind of rain that made people decide to stay indoors rather than risk getting soaked.

Adora had always loved rainy days. She remembered how loud the rain had been on the roof of her group home and how often she had fallen asleep to the monotonous lullaby of rain striking shingles.

Adora thought of her old living space that Sunday morning as she woke up to the rain, looking around and realizing with a shock that she was no longer at the home. She quickly remembered where she was and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

She propped herself up in bed, bringing her knees up under her chin. Then she watched the rain hit her window for a while, allowing herself to think back to how everything had been before moving to Etheria.

It hadn't been terrible. There were nice people and she had a few friends. But it wasn't anything like how she lived now.

The home had always been too large and organized to feel like a family. Not to mention that there were some rougher parts to life there. A lot of the girls had experienced a lot of things. And it always showed, just in different ways.

Some of them had been mean and lashed out. Some caused trouble for seemingly no reason. And most of them would cry to themselves at night or when they could find some time alone. And then there were the kids who were like Adora.

She suffered just like all the others, but she had always kept it inside. Turning her anger and her doubt and her passions inward. Bottling it all up and never letting it out.

Adora could still feel it sometimes when her mind drifted, against her will, back to the home and even to the homes before that. She felt like she was still holding onto something and she couldn't ever see herself letting it go.

She had never told anyone about this. It wasn't that there had never been anyone to tell, it was just that Adora didn't want to talk about it. Angella had tried to talk with her about the home and her growing up before and Glimmer had asked a few questions. Catra had also been curious and asked how her old home was. She had never given much of a response. She would just say that it had been fine and change the subject. This was usually enough to tip people off to the fact that she didn't want to talk about it.

Of course, the people who were curious were always better than the alternative. Better than the look of pity that so many people gave her when they figured out she had been orphaned. Better than the people who saw her as a charity case.

Not that Adora judged these people either. She figured that, objectively, young orphan girls were a sad thing. But that still didn't make it easier.

And none of it had ever been easy, but it hadn't destroyed her either. And she trusted these new people in her life more than almost anybody ever, but there were still some things that she had held in for too long to just suddenly open up about.

So she continued to keep it inside. As she had always done.

Adora had always been reserved and would stick to her own devices when given the option. This made her the _quiet_ orphan girl and she knew that just made people worry about her more, but she couldn't change who she was.

Despite this, however, she had still managed to make her share of friends back at the home. She wondered how the girls were doing now. And if it had even mattered to them that she had left.

She grabbed her phone from her nightstand and typed a few of their names into Google, pulling her blankets around her tightly. She hadn't expected many results and didn't really find any.

She sighed to herself and pondered everything as she watched the rain. This was the safest she had ever felt. In this house. With Angella and Glimmer. And with good friends. And Catra.

In such a relatively short time she had made such strong connections. Connections she hadn't known she could make. And a lot of that had been because of Glimmer.

Glimmer had insisted on spending near constant time with her from the moment she had arrived. It had pushed at Adora's comfort zone and there had been many times Adora had wanted to be left alone, but had been unable to tell Glimmer. And now Adora was thankful for those times.

Glimmer had also introduced her to Bow. She had shown her around school. She had made her feel generally welcome in the town and her home.

Prior to moving in, Adora had been worried that her new foster sister would be troubled that a stranger was going to be living in her house, but Glimmer had been nothing but thankful for Adora's presence. Until now.

Adora scooted over and pressed her ear against the wall that connected her and Glimmer's room. She couldn't hear anything and wasn't sure what that meant.

She missed Glimmer already and it had only been two days since everything had gone so bad. And now she couldn't help but feel that she had really messed up their trust in one another.

As she thought about all this, Adora decided she needed to get her mind off it. She slipped on her comfy robe and made her way out of her room and down the stairs. She wanted to hang out with Catra. Nowadays, she always wanted to hang out with Catra. She sent a quick text to Catra asking if she was free anytime today and then made her way into the living room.

Angella was lounging on the couch reading a book and she looked up at Adora as she entered the room.

"Good morning," Angella said warmly. "Well, I guess it's almost afternoon now."

"Yeah I stayed up late," Adora explained.

"You must have!" Angella adjusted herself on the couch and made a space for Adora, who came and sat next to her. "And how are you feeling?"

"About the same," Adora answered. "Guilty."

Angella nodded regretfully. "I wish there was something I could do. I talked to Glimmer some more. She's definitely doing better."

"She is?"

"Well," Angella pursed her lips. "She's leaving her room at least."

"Oh," Adora said disappointedly.

"She'll come around, Adora. If you just keep reminding her that you're there for her, she can't stay mad forever."

* * *

Catra had been pacing around her room waiting for Scorpia to show up, and the moment the doorbell rang she rushed up the basement stairs and over to the front door.

She opened it quickly and was met with a thoroughly soaked Scorpia who smiled sheepishly at Catra.

"Get in here," Catra ushered her friend inside.

Scorpia waddled in, leaving a small trail of water behind her.

"Here take off your coat, you're soaked," Catra instructed the girl.

Scorpia took off her coat and looked around for somewhere to hang it. Catra took it from her and threw it onto the kitchen table ungraciously.

"Come on," she said impatiently, walking back towards her room, Scorpia in tow.

Catra shut the door behind them and they made their way down into Catra's room where they both took a seat on the bed.

"Oh gosh," Scorpia said as she stood up again. "I'm getting your bed all wet."

"I don't care," Catra said dismissively. "Sit with me."

Scorpia slowly lowered herself back down and grasped at her hands nervously. "So...I didn't mean to blow up on you on Friday."

"Don't apologize," Catra said quickly and Scorpia looked at her, surprised. "Really. I had it coming. I'm the one who's sorry. I've been thinking about it and... you're my best friend. And you've always been there for me and I really need to, like, reflect that. You know what I'm saying?"

"Um. Yeah I think so," Scorpia said, taken aback by Catra's words. "But I w…"

"Well let me finish real quick," Catra interrupted. "Basically, it's my fault. And I get that. I don't talk about my, y'know, feelings and stuff a lot. But recently I talked to some people real openly and it felt really good. I mean, most of it was awful. But at the end it felt...good. And I just wanna try to be, like, a better friend, I guess. So I just wanna come totally clean. Anything you wanna know. Any questions. Just ask me and I'll tell you." Catra pulled her legs up under her on the bed and sat cross-legged, staring at Scorpia expectantly.

"Wow," Scorpia said. "I...well thanks for all that. But...Cat, I haven't been honest with you either."

Catra frowned slightly. "How so?"

"Well I just...there's been something I've needed to tell you for a long time. But I've never actually done it because I've been too scared. But not telling you has only made it worse."

Catra studied Scorpia and found that she was becoming increasingly nervous. "Well...you could tell me if that makes it easier," Catra said slowly. "Is this why you've been acting kinda...weird lately?"

"Yeah," Scorpia admitted, staring at the floor.

"Oh. Well. We could talk about that too. If you want? We could just tell each other everything and be best friends and then we can play a game or eat popcorn or anything you want."

Scorpia smiled a little at this. "Catra. Gosh. I feel so dumb."

"Don't," Catra said quickly. "I get it. I won't ever judge you or anything."

"You might though."

"I won't."

"It's kind of a big deal."

"Then we can handle it together."

"I'm scared things between us will change."

"I promise they won't."

"You promise?"

"Of course. Nothing you could do would ma…"

"Catra, I like you," Scorpia said quickly, cutting off Catra. Scorpia felt the heat rise in her face and her heart was beating rapidly.

Catra made a strange face. "Well...yeah I like you too."

"No," Scorpia said, still unable to make eye contact with Catra. "Cat, I...I...I _really _like you." Her voice wavered a bit and she turned her face even further away from Catra so that she couldn't see her reaction.

Catra laughed nervously. "Well you...I mean...do you mean like…?"

Scorpia said nothing and Catra's confused smile quickly fell from her face. "Oh."

There was a prolonged period of the most awkward silence that either of them had ever experienced.

This was probably the last possible thing that Catra could have suspected. Her friend of so many years was now apparently seeking more than a friendship. At least that's what it seemed like. Catra wasn't sure what to say or what to think. Catra had been so sure that Scorpia and her were just meant to be friends. Catra hadn't even considered the possibility of anything else between them since middle school.

"Uh…" Catra said, meaning to respond, but not knowing what to say. "...I...how long?"

Scorpia was quiet for a while before she quietly spoke. "A while."

"Oh," Catra repeated, too thrown off to formulate any kind of an appropriate response. It felt like her brain wasn't working quite right.

There was another period of silence where Catra started to piece together some of Scorpia's behavior.

"This isn't…" Scorpia said suddenly, her shoulders sagging as she kept her head down and facing away from Catra. "I always meant to tell you, but not like this. And...and I know that…you are probably into Adora." As she finished this sentence her voice cracked a little bit and Catra instantly felt guilty for some reason. "But I figured...you should know. That I should tell you at least once. Just to finally get it out there. So I can stop…regretting it all so much."

Catra heard the telltale tremble in Scorpia's voice that usually preluded tears. Catra knew she had to actually respond. She thought about leaving somehow. Escaping. Her brain ran through a few excuses before she snapped herself back to reality. There was literally no way out of this that didn't include letting Scorpia down easy. Something she had never thought she'd be doing.

"Scorpia…" Catra said slowly. Scorpia moved her head a little, but she was still avoiding looking at Catra. "I...wow. This was definitely...unexpected," Catra chuckled nervously. Scorpia didn't respond and Catra frowned. "I mean, look, I just...uh, shoot…I just really like us as, y'know, friends. And I...really do like Adora. I meant to tell you that. And I should've."

Catra paused and looked over at Scorpia, not seeing any change. Catra sighed. "But you're, like, my best friend. And I really care about you. A lot."

There was another stretch of silence. Catra felt uncomfortable and began to gnaw at her fingernails again, biting down the nails that had just started to grow out. She sat watching Scorpia, waiting for a response.

She didn't say anything, but Catra saw her body shake a little bit. Catra leaned forward, concerned, and heard her friend sniffling quietly.

"Hey," Catra said, frowning deeply. She scooted closer to Scorpia and put her arms around her in a side-hug.

Scorpia leaned into the hug and Catra could now feel her friend's body heaving as she held her. They stayed like that for a long time.

Catra felt herself tear up a little bit too as she heard Scorpia cry. She knew it wasn't her that had caused this, at least not directly, but she still felt bad. Catra knew what it felt like to like somebody and not know if they felt the same. She assumed most people did. But being turned down was different. If Adora had turned Catra down, she probably would have felt the same. Catra grappled with this and the general shock of this whole revelation as she held Scorpia.

After what seemed like forever, Scorpia sat up and rubbed her face, sniffing loudly. Her face was red and puffy. "I feel dumb," she said simply.

"Please don't," Catra pleaded. "This happens. And I'm...I'm sorry."

"No," Scorpia said, wiping at her nose. "You didn't do anything. And I thought this would happen. Maybe...I've known for a while. Maybe forever."

Catra wasn't sure what to say to that.

Scorpia continued. "And it looks like Adora makes you happy."

Catra waited a bit and then nodded.

Scorpia sighed and looked over at the door. "I think I need to be alone for a while."

"You sure?" Catra asked. "We can still hang out or…" She trailed off.

Scorpia shook her head. "No. I just need some time. But thanks, Cat."

"Yeah," Catra said awkwardly. Their dynamic suddenly felt different and Catra wasn't sure how to interact.

Scorpia could also tell that something felt different and she got up to go. "I'll see you at school."

"Yeah, see you then," Catra said, watching as her friend walked up the steps and out of the room. She heard Scorpia's footsteps above her and then the sound of the front door opening and closing.

Catra took a deep breath and then collapsed onto her bed, burying her face in her pillow. She was asleep in minutes.

* * *

Adora perked up as she heard Glimmer's bedroom door open. She eagerly sat up in her bed and saw Glimmer walk out into the hallway.

"Hey, Glimmer!" Adora called out and she saw Glimmer freeze. "I was wondering if you wante…"

Adora hadn't even finished speaking when Glimmer turned back around and Adora heard the door open and close again.

Adora sighed and went back to doing her homework. She had been working for about half an hour when her phone began to buzz rhythmically.

Adora saw that Catra was calling her and was instantly relieved. Talking to Catra always made her feel better.

Adora answered with, "Hey, Catra," and felt self conscious about the sound of her voice.

"Hey," came Catra's voice from the phone speakers. "Sorry I didn't reply to your text earlier. I was kinda busy."

"That's fine," Adora assured the girl. "I just wanted to get out of the house. It's a little...tense here."

"Well that works out _great_ because you are maybe the only person I want to see right now," Catra replied eagerly.

This made Adora smile. "Well that sounds good to me. Are you gonna pick me up?"

"I mean, I'm not sure how else you'd get here," Catra reasoned.

"Good point," Adora answered. "Hey are you doing alright? You sound kind of tired."

There was a pause on the other end and then Catra replied. "Yeah. I'll tell you about it when I see you. It's...pretty outta left field."

"Oh. Well I definitely wanna talk about it then if you're okay with it. Here, gimme a while to get ready and then come get me. And don't give me two minutes like last time!"

Catra chuckled. "I think I gave you a fair amount of warning. You just try not to spill perfume on yourself this time."

Adora scowled and could tell that Catra was grinning on the other side of the phone. "You're the worst. Come get me."

* * *

Catra waited until Adora was down in her room and the door was locked to tell her what had happened with Scorpia.

Adora listened attentively as Catra explained everything. From Scorpia's outburst at school the day before up to this morning. Adora was a little surprised by the situation, but it honestly made a lot of sense. Also, she was secretly relieved to hear that Catra wasn't interested in Scorpia.

Catra didn't tell Adora the exact phrasing and didn't mention that she had told Scorpia about liking Adora.

When Catra had finished, Adora nodded to herself. "Well I can definitely see why you wanted some company."

"Yeah my brain feels like I stuck it in a toaster and left it overnight," Catra paused. "That was a weird analogy, but you get what I'm saying."

"Yeah I do. And you really had no idea?"

"Not a clue," Catra said in exasperation. "Well maybe, like, some little clues, but nothing glaringly obvious at least. She didn't exactly go around telling me she thought of me as, like...y'know."

"Well she did ask you to the Fall Formal," Adora recalled.

"Well yeah but she meant, like,..." Catra paused and thought about it. Her mouth slowly opened as she pieced it all together. "Oh man. Yep. That explains that." She slapped a hand to her forehead. "Am I...dumb for not realizing this earlier?"

"No," Adora answered quickly. "Scorpia never really told you and it sounds like you always saw it as exclusively a friendship so there was no way you could have known."

"Yeah true. Man it's all so crazy. Scorpia of all people. And I still feel bad about it. Like, I think I let her down easy, but she also cried a lot. And she's...soft."

Adora frowned and scooted closer to Catra. They were sitting in her bed and it bowed slightly as their weight collected in the middle of the mattress.

"She's probably gonna be sad for a while. But it sounds like she maybe thought this would happen so at least it wasn't out of nowhere."

"Yeah," Catra said, toying absentmindedly with a Rubik's cube she had found in her room. "I'm just worried it's gonna be all weird now."

"Why so?" Adora asked.

"Well it's just weird, I dunno. I mean, knowing that your friend had a...crush on you is weird. And what if it's just awkward now?"

"I get you. I feel like you two are too good of friends to let this get between you. But yeah. I can see that being a little awkward at points."

"A _little_ awkward? It's gonna be so extremely awkward. Oh man. What a mess. I mean, look at us. Friend problems galore."

"Yeah we're hitting a rough patch alright," Adora agreed with a defeated chuckle.

"But we have each other," Catra suggested.

"Yeah we do."

Both girls sat there quietly for a while.

Adora broke the silence by gasping. "Catra!"

"What!?" Catra exclaimed, startled by the sudden outburst.

Adora snatched up Catra's hand and examined the tips of her fingers. "You chewed the tips all up again!"

Catra couldn't help but smile at the unexpected confrontation. "I can't help it. My brain just decides to do it sometimes."

Adora was not satisfied with this excuse. "Well you're gonna get an infection, I swear. And at the very least your fingertips will be all gnarled up."

"Well I'll try harder," Catra said with a toothy smile. "If only to get you off my back about it."

"You better. How are you gonna play guitar if you bite your fingertips off?"

Catra snorted. "Dramatic much? And I'd just get prosthetic fingertips."

"I don't think prosthetic fingertips are a thing," Adora responded with a smile, shaking her head slowly.

"Sure they are. You can get, like, prosthetic anything nowadays."

"Yeah sure," Adora said, unconvinced.

Catra chuckled and pulled out her phone as she began to tap rapidly.

"What are you doing?" Adora asked.

"Googling prosthetic fingertips...Oh and look at this. That's funny. It almost looks like a prosthetic fingertip." Catra said this facetiously as she handed the phone to Adora.

Adora quickly grabbed the phone and read the search results, her frown deepening the further she scrolled. "Well...you win this round...I guess."

"So that means I'm free to bite at my heart's content," Catra said and jokingly brought her finger up to her open mouth.

"Get that outta here," Adora said and playfully slapped Catra's hand away.

Catra gasped. "How dare you," she joked.

"I do it because I care," Adora said with a smile.

"Well thanks for that, _mom_. But what about you? You probably have some bad habits of your own."

"Nope."

"I don't believe you," Catra said matter of factly. "You're just hiding it."

"No, really, I don't think I have any!" Adora proclaimed.

"Mhmm," Catra said slowly, looking Adora over. "Yep. Yep. You definitely pick your nose, I bet."

"I do not!" Adora whined, smiling in spite of the accusation.

"Oh you're being awful defensive," Catra said smugly.

"Shut up," Adora said with a giggle. "I don't pick my nose and I don't bite my fingernails. I guess I'm just perfect." Adora flipped her hair back over her shoulder dramatically.

Catra rolled her eyes. "You definitely have something. You don't have to tell me either cuz I'll find it."

"Well let me know when you do," Adora said as she got more comfortable on Catra's bed.

"Oh I will," Catra told her. "Now. Do you wanna do anything?"

"Sure. Unless you wanna talk more."

"Well I'd rather just get my mind off it all to be honest. So what do you feel like?"

Adora looked around the room. "What is there to do?"

"I'm glad you asked!" Catra exclaimed. She bounced up from the bed and walked around the room. She gestured to a few boxes resting under some clothes on her drawer. "We have three whole board games! State of the art. Probably with most of the pieces missing."

Adora watched on in amusement as Catra continued her walk around the room. "Here we have a fully functioning entertainment system!" She pointed out the TV and Xbox. "We could watch a movie if you really want, but I don't have the patience for that. And we have some games. I could destroy you in Halo if you want."

Adora chuckled. "That sounds fun."

"You bet it does," Catra agreed. She looked around the room a bit more. "Uh...that's really about it honestly. We can't really do anything outside cuz it's raining. And my dad is taking the car so we couldn't really drive anywhere. You fine staying here?"

"Definitely," Adora replied. "And I wanna listen to you play guitar again later."

"Again?" Catra said, raising an eyebrow. "I've never had a fan before."

"Well consider me your number one fan. I like listening and you're really good."

"I'm literally average. But thank you," Catra said graciously. "You wanna play that game then?"

"Heck yeah," Adora replied as Catra grinned and tossed her a controller.

They ended up playing Halo together for hours. They cleared the campaign and by the end, Adora was a huge fan. Adora was confident in her ability at that point so they played some 1v1 matches. Adora quickly realized that Catra was a million times better than her and soon grew tired of getting destroyed.

"Hey you screen-peeked!" Adora accused Catra loudly as Catra scored the final kill, winning the game.

Catra laughed loudly. "I did not screen-peek. I never should have taught you that term."

"Then how did you know I was behind you?" Adora countered.

"The minimap," Catra explained, laughing again at the resulting annoyance on Adora's face.

The sound of Catra's laughter made Adora feel better after her crippling defeat and she gave in. "Alright fine. I guess you're a Halo champion or whatever."

"Born and raised," Catra responded arrogantly.

"You little punk," Adora said, shaking her head with a small smile. She pulled out her phone and looked at the time. "Wow! We played for a long time."

"Hey, man," Catra said, shrugging. "When you gotta save the galaxy, you gotta save the galaxy."

Adora snorted. "You nerd," she said and then looked back at her phone. "But I probably should start getting ready to leave…"

Catra sat up, a disappointed look on her face. "Already? You could eat dinner here and then leave after."

Adora frowned as she looked at the hopeful look on Catra's face. She did want to stay longer. "I don't know. I told Angella I wouldn't be out too late."

"Stay here tonight," Catra said suddenly. Adora looked over at her and saw that she was staring intently.

"Wh...like, sleep here?" Adora asked, confused.

"Yeah. Like a sleepover or something," Catra insisted.

"But...it's a school night," Adora said hesitantly. Despite her own words, she desperately wanted Catra to convince her to stay.

"My dad will take us to school tomorrow."

"What about my backpack and stuff?"

"Glimmer can take it to school tomorrow and give it to you," Catra said quickly. She was not missing a beat.

Adora thought about it for a bit. She fiddled with the discarded Rubik's cube that was still laying on the bed. She ultimately decided that she should just give in and do what she wanted for a change.

"Okay."

"Yes!" Catra celebrated as she pumped her fists. "Sleepover time!"

"Well let me call Angella first," Adora said with a grin. She was more excited about the whole idea than she let on and hoped Angella would be okay with it.

Catra continued to celebrate as Adora called up her foster mom. Angella answered after one ring.

"Hey, Adora. Are you doing alright?" She asked.

"Yeah I'm having a good time," Adora answered.

"That's right," Catra said proudly and Adora shushed her.

"Well I'm glad. When were you thinking of getting back home?"

"Well...that's the thing," Adora said slowly. "I know this is super out of nowhere and all but can I stay the night?"

Angella paused for a bit. "You're at Catra's house?"

"Yeah."

"Did her father say it was alright?"

"Um. Not yet."

"Hmm. Could I talk to him?"

"Yeah definitely. Just a minute." Adora muted the call and turned to Catra. "Will your dad be fine with this?"

"Oh yeah," Catra said quickly. "And if he isn't I'll just threaten to drop out of school or something."

The pair went upstairs quickly and found Catra's dad in his room reading a book. They told him about the impromptu plans and gave him the phone.

"Angella! Hey! It's Gerald," he said into the phone. He waited a moment and then frowned, removing the phone from his ear and turning back to Adora. "She's not saying anything."

Catra snatched the phone away and looked at it. "Dad, it's still muted." She unmuted it and handed the phone back.

"Angella! Hey! It's Gerald," he repeated and this time he seemed to carry on a conversation. The girls listened hopefully as they spoke.

"Only if you're alright with it." He listened for a moment. "It would be no problem at all." He paused again and then turned to Adora. "She asked if you had any homework."

"Nope," Adora lied reactively and Gerald nodded and relayed the information to Angella.

There was another pause as he listened to her speak. "Oh good idea," he said before reciting his own phone number.

"Yeah I'll let you know. But she'll be fine, don't worry about it." He laughed into the phone before listening for a while.

Catra and Adora strained to hear what Angella was saying.

"Oh, yeah I'm usually free on weekends," he said and Catra narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Well I'm sure we will. It's a small town." Gerald laughed again and then said goodbye and handed the phone back to Adora.

"Hello?"

"You can stay the night," Angella told her. "Just make sure you get good sleep and don't stay up all night! And find a way to brush your teeth somehow!"

"I will," Adora said, smiling to herself.

"Okay. Enjoy yourself, dear."

"I will. Thank you! Bye," Adora hung up and grinned widely at Catra.

"That looks like a smile of success," Catra said quickly.

"I'm cleared," Adora said excitedly. She turned to Gerald. "And you're sure it's alright?"

"Of course it is. You like meatloaf?"

Adora nodded in response and Gerald clapped his hands together cheerfully. "Then you're in luck! I'll grab a spare mattress for you and some blankets and stuff."

"Thanks," Adora replied.

"Yeah thanks, dad," Catra seconded and then grabbed Adora by the wrist and tugged her away.

They headed back to Catra's room and Catra shut the door and hopped down every step down into her room. "Ha!" She shouted. "Success! Am I a genius or what?"

"It was a pretty good idea," Adora admitted, appreciating Catra's enthusiasm.

"What was that?" Catra asked dramatically, raising a hand to her ear. "Did you say, 'Oh, Catra you genius. Thank you for saving me from a boring night at home' ?"

Adora scoffed and descended the basement steps slowly. "Okay fine you're a genius. And I am pretty excited." Adora hopped down from the last step and walked up to Catra. "I even lied about having homework," she said proudly.

"Woah!" Catra exclaimed. "What a little rebel! You better watch out or you're gonna lose your good girl creds."

"I don't have 'good girl creds'," Adora said dismissively.

"Oh okay," Catra said, the disbelief audible in her voice. "What's your GPA again?"

"Well...it's a 3.9 still."

Catra raised an eyebrow, considering her point made.

"But I do 'bad girl' things!" Adora protested. "I got a detention!"

"Okay that was entirely my fault," Catra said with a laugh.

"I got in a fight! A genuine fight! I bled!"

"I mean, that's true," Catra admitted. "But you didn't really fight back. I mean, if you had then Lonnie would've been in some real trouble."

"Well...I shoved her. And...there was a point where she kicked you and I... y'know. If Mr. Hordak hadn't stepped in…"

"Woah," Catra said, suddenly curious. "What were you gonna do?"

"I don't know, but I was definitely gonna do it. It was a scary feeling in hindsight."

"Well I'm flattered that you were so ready to throw down for me," Catra said.

"Of course! Would a good girl do that?"

"Hmmm," Catra thought to herself. "Maybe. I have an idea." Catra walked over to her closet and began to look through her clothes.

Adora sidled up behind her. "What are you doing?"

"Well," Catra said as she smiled and pulled out a worn leather jacket from her closet, "I figured we could catch a glimpse of this 'bad girl' Adora." She held the jacket up to Adora's torso.

Adora chuckled. "It's not really my style, but I'll try it out."

"Yes!" Catra said excitedly as she continued to rifle through her clothes.

"Gosh, Catra," Adora said as she watched. "Do you own any clothes that aren't black?"

"Heh. Some," Catra replied proudly.

"And you have so much leather!"

"Hey man. Leather's cool. Maybe I'll get a motorcycle one day and it'll complete my aesthetic."

"You're hopeless," Adora said admirably.

Catra pulled out a few more things and handed them to Adora. "I think we're ready."

Adora looked at the clothes and then around the room awkwardly. "Uh…"

"Oh! Yeah, geez," Catra said quickly, looking away nervously. "Yeah I'll, uh, step out." She bounded up the stairs. "Just let me know when you're, like, decent and everything."

Catra shut the door behind her and Adora smiled to herself. _"How is she so cute?" _Adora wondered.

Adora changed, struggling a little to fit into Catra's smaller clothes. The clothes smelled like Catra and Adora felt her heart race as she slipped into them.

When she had put everything on she observed herself in a body mirror attached to the closet.

"Woah," she said out loud to herself, surprised by the look. She definitely looked edgier. She had a simple grey tee on with one of Catra's tight-fitting black leather jackets. The ripped black jeans she wore were a little short on her and were _way _too tight. The outfit wasn't comfortable at all, but it looked pretty good. Not like anything Adora would ever wear, but still pretty good.

"I'm ready!" She called up to Catra and instantly heard the door open. Catra peered down at Adora and a grin slowly stretched across her face.

"Oh. My. God. You look incredible," Catra said as she hurried down the steps and admired Adora.

"I don't know about _that_," Adora said bashfully.

"Nah this one's not up for debate. You look great."

Adora felt her heart swell as she nervously teetered from foot to foot. Catra walked around Adora and took in the look. "Yeah I can see the bad girl vibe now for sure. Oh man. If we ripped the sleeves off that. And you had like a badass sleeveless leather jacket. That'd be next level."

"Well I like it, but I don't think I'll be adding this stuff to my wardrobe anytime soon."

"Too bad for you?" Catra asked from behind Adora's shoulder. Catra's mouth was painfully close to the back of Adora's neck and it took all of Adora's willpower not to shiver.

"Uh...yeah," she said, recovering. "Plus I feel like I'm being squeezed to death by your clothes."

"I...yep," Catra said, trying to play it cool. She had definitely noticed how tight the clothes fit.

Adora looked herself over in the mirror again. "Yeah I don't think the bad girl thing is me either. I'll just...stay neutral girl for now."

"Neutral girl," Catra said, trying the term out. "Yeah that sounds very you."

"Agreed. Now get out so I can change back."

"Well you're gonna need some pajamas if you're staying the night," Catra said. She scanned the room before heading over to her bed and pulling a half-filled laundry hamper out from under it. She pulled out a worn and oversized t-shirt and a pair of checkered pajama pants. She held them up and smiled at Adora.

"Okay," Adora replied. "But after this we're done playing dress up with Adora."

Catra clicked her tongue disappointedly. "But that's my new favorite game though," she said in a whiny voice.

"Well just wait till we play dress up with you," Adora said. "I'd love to get you in a dress. All _poofy_ and _frilly_ and not a bit of leather in sight." Adora said this just to get a reaction and she was rewarded as Catra slowly grimaced more and more with each word.

"I haven't worn a dress since, like, fifth grade," Catra said as if recalling a dark memory. "Never again."

Adora laughed and walked up to Catra, bumping into her playfully. "It's okay, I won't ever make you wear a dress," Adora assured her as she took the pajamas from her. "Besides, I like how you look already."

Catra smiled somewhat awkwardly and brushed her hair out of her face. "Thanks. I like how you look too. Just for the record. Like...in any clothes, not just mine. So..." Catra tugged at her shirt collar and pointed towards the basement door. "I'm gonna go check on dinner. You let me know when you're changed."

"Will do," Adora said as she began to shrug off the jacket. Catra closed the door and Adora sat down on the bed as she got undressed.

She was taking off the skinny jeans when she banged her knee on Catra's nightstand and grimaced in pain.

Adora examined her knee and then looked at the drawer of the nightstand that was slightly ajar and that she had collided with. She went to close it when she saw something sticking out of it slightly. The corner of something rectangular.

Now, Adora didn't want to go snooping around Catra's things. Well, she did. But she would feel guilty about it and she didn't want to betray Catra like that.

She did, however, decide that she couldn't close the drawer with that item sticking out how it was. So she grabbed it gingerly and began to push it back down into the drawer.

She realized as she did this that it felt like a photo, with one side glossy and smooth. Adora paused as her curiosity began to get the best of her. She looked up at the basement door and faintly heard Catra talking to her dad.

Adora gave in and quickly pulled the item she was holding out of the drawer and examined it.

It was, in fact, a photo. Adora quickly realized she was looking at a picture of a young Catra and a woman that she recognized as Catra's mother. They were laughing, or at least smiling, and they seemed to be sitting on a checkered blanket outside on a sunny day. They both looked so happy and Adora smiled to herself as she looked at Catra, displaying a grin that was missing a front tooth and that showed off her prominent dimples.

Catra's mother looked happy too. She looked so much like Catra. Adora then realized with a shock that in the background of the photo was a sight that she recognized. It was the field of sunflowers that Catra had taken her to.

Adora wondered again what had happened with Catra's mother. She began to place the photo back when she saw some writing on the back of the photo in black marker. It read, 'For my baby, Catra. Love you!' and had a heart drawn next to it.

Adora frowned and put the photo back how it had been, closing the drawer again.

* * *

"So, Adora," Gerald said as he cut himself off another slice of the meatloaf he had made. "How did you and Catra meet?"

"Oh," Adora said as she thought back to it. "Well it's a funny story, actually."

Catra frowned guiltily as she knew where this was going.

"It was my first day and Catra tried talking to me in Mrs. Weaver's class. And uh...we got a detention."

"A detention for getting to know your classmates during class? That hardly seems fair," Gerald reasoned.

"Thank you!" Catra exclaimed. "Mrs. Weaver just hates me."

"Well…" Gerald said slowly. "There was that time when you put p…"

"Oh!" Catra said excitedly, interrupting her dad. "Don't steal my punchline." She turned to Adora and pointed a fork at her. "I'm proud of this one. One time in, like, my freshman year English class, Scorpia and I put black paint on the eraser part of the whiteboard eraser before class. And then when Mrs. Weaver tried to erase…" Catra left her description open ended as she smiled proudly, getting a kick out of the memory.

Adora laughed at the story and Gerald just shook his head, smiling wryly despite himself. "That was super bad though. You were in detention for weeks."

"Well she wouldn't have even known it was me if I hadn't laughed so hard. And I managed to convince her it was only me so Scorpia got off the hook."

"So you've been getting in trouble in that class for way longer than I've been here," Adora realized.

"Oh yeah. You're just the latest casualty in my battle against Mrs. Weaver," Catra said as she poured even more salt on her mashed potatoes.

"A battle that we _hope_ is done for good," Gerald said with a look at his daughter, who shrugged. He sighed and turned back to Adora. "So do you have any plans for what you wanna do after high school? Careers? College?"

Adora chewed her food as she thought about it. "Not really," she replied after a while. "I mean, I never really saw college as an option. But now, I guess…I don't know."

"Well I'm glad you have options now," Gerald said joyfully. "I'm a firm believer that everybody should do whatever makes them happy. You just gotta find out what that is. Me and Catra have been talking about that lately. Looking at possible colleges in the area."

Adora raised her eyebrows and looked over at Catra. "Really?"

"Yeah," Catra replied. "I don't know. I'm not a huge fan of school, but there's a lot of cool things to learn, I guess. Anything beats working at the skating rink for the rest of my life."

"Yeah I guess so," Adora said distantly. She hadn't thought about college much or even her future, and it all took her a little aback. She decided not to fret about it and enjoyed the rest of the meal with Catra and her dad.

After dinner, Adora insisted on helping clean up, but Gerald declined, admiring her responsibility.

Catra and Adora went back downstairs and played through the campaign of another Halo game until it was way past the time when they should have been asleep for school the next day.

Catra helped set up the blanket and pillows on Adora's mattress on the ground. As she did, she tested the comfortability of the mattress by laying on it.

"This isn't the most comfortable sleeping arrangement," Catra said, dissatisfied. "If you want you can sleep in my bed."

Adora's eyes widened a little bit and her face started to redden. "Uh...I…"

"Oh!" Catra said suddenly, waving her arms in front of her. "No, I meant, like, you sleep in my bed, and I sleep on this bed. Like a switch! Not like...I mean, not that I wouldn't…" Catra trailed off. "Anyway! You're welcome to my bed if you want."

Adora recovered from her initial surprise and shook her head. "Thanks, but I'm fine with floor-bed." But now, all that Adora could think about was sleeping in the same bed as Catra. An excited chill ran down Adora's spine.

"Your loss," Catra said, desperate to change the subject. "Anyway, it's all ready for you." Catra patted the mattress and leapt up onto her own bed, which was just parallel to where the mattress was.

Adora smiled and settled down into her floor-bed, getting under the heavy blanket she had been given. "Did you leave a mint on the pillow too?" Adora asked, craning her neck to look over at Catra, who was rubbing her eyes and getting situated in her own bed.

"We're actually fresh out of mints," Catra said. "But tell you what. If you sleep over here again I'll make sure you receive better service."

Adora laughed as she laid back flat on her pillow, looking up at the ceiling covered with a huge pride flag and hundreds of little glow-in-the-dark stars. "I'll definitely have to then."

"Definitely," Catra agreed. "You ready for me to turn off the light?"

"Yeah go for it."

Catra reached over and flicked the switch on the lamp, bathing the room in darkness. Adora listened to the sound of Catra shuffling around to get comfortable and then there was a moment of quiet.

"Hey, Adora?" Came Catra's raspy voice from the darkness.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for coming over. Everything with Scorpia...I just needed someone to talk to. And you're...you're, like, the only person I could talk to about this."

Adora wished now more than ever that she was up there laying next to Catra. "Of course," Adora whispered in response. "And hey, I'll always be here. If you ever wanna talk. Any time at all."

There was another moment of quiet as the girls laid in the dark, only a few feet from each other.

"Thanks," Catra whispered. "Adora?"

"Yeah I'm still here," Adora said, chuckling quietly. Adora heard Catra laughing quietly from the bed before she continued.

"Well...I was gonna make a big deal out of this. Like go overboard. But that's not really your thing and I got lazy. And to be honest, I just wanna ask you already." Catra paused and Adora heard her take a breath. Adora wasn't sure what she was going to say, but she found herself getting excited about it. "Do you...would you wanna go to the Fall Formal with me?"

Adora was glad that it was dark so that Catra didn't see the absurdly large smile on Adora's face. "Yes," she responded instantly. "That sounds really fun."

"Oh good," Catra said, releasing a sigh. "When I rehearsed that in my head you always said no."

"Well then the Adora in your head is nothing like the real Adora. I can't wait," Adora said excitedly.

"You know, I can't either," Catra agreed. "I...I'm just glad you're here. And also glad that I got us in that detention way back when."

"Oh I know you are," Adora said into the dark as she cuddled up further into the blanket. "I am too."

Adora could practically hear Catra snickering in the bed next to her.

"Well we should probably get _some_ sleep."

"Yeah you're right."

"Goodnight, Adora. I hope you have good dreams on your semi-comfortable floor-bed."

"I'm sure I will," Adora said, and Catra could tell in the way she said it that she was smiling. "Goodnight, Catra."

After that, the girls were able to settle in and be at ease. They thought warmly of the Fall Formal and of each other as they drifted off to sleep.

Before Catra was fully asleep, however, she heard a soft rhythmic noise coming from the floor. She listened curiously and realized that it was the sound of Adora snoring.

Catra could barely handle how cute it was and she smiled up at the glow-in-the-dark pinpricks on the ceiling.

"I don't know if snoring counts as a bad habit or not," Catra whispered aloud, certain that Adora was asleep. "But regardless, it's adorable."

Catra closed her eyes slowly and whispered again into the darkness. "I think I love you, Adora."

_**Big chapter. I've been waiting for a lot of these moments. Writing the Scorpia part broke my little heart. As did talking about Adora's past. Which by the way I would like to point out that I understand that everybody in the childcare system has different experiences and I don't mean to narrow that down or anything. My mother was in a group home for a long time and I'm using what she has told me about it to write a lot of this. So at least it is related to somebody's experience. And the part at the end. Wow. I'm just so happy to see the story progressing. I'm working on some big ideas for the future of it and I'll let you know when I flesh it out more. But it's gonna be fun! Thanks for reading and I hope everybody stays safe and has a great week!**_


	27. Chapter 27

"Adora, I'm cold."

"I don't know how I'm supposed to help with that," Adora responded to Catra with a big smile.

"Make it less cold."

Adora scoffed as they made their way through the school courtyard. It was pretty cold out and Adora could see Catra shivering despite her several layers of clothing. Adora was wearing the clothes she had worn over to Catra's the previous day and, as part of a last minute decision this morning, she was also wearing one of Catra's leather jackets.

Catra loved seeing Adora in her clothes. She nestled closer to Adora as they made their way to the front doors of the school.

As soon as they got into the building and felt the comforting wave of heat, Catra eased up and unzipped her winter coat.

"So…" Catra said eagerly, nudging Adora. "Do you wanna sit together at lunch? We can do that now."

"Wow, I didn't even think of that. That would be great!" Adora then remembered her friends and her enthusiasm dropped a little bit. "Well. I mean... there's Glimmer and Bow and everything. I don't wanna abandon them."

"Well Glimmer probably won't wanna sit with you or Bow anyway," Catra figured. "So you two can just hop over to my table. Easy."

"But what if Glimmer feels left out?" Adora asked in uncertainty.

"Well then she'll have to realize that she's the one who's removing herself from everyone else. Maybe it'll force her to get over everything quicker."

"I guess…" Adora said. "I do wanna sit with you. And you're sure your friends will be alright with it? And, like, Scorpia especially?"

"Yeah I was thinking about that," Catra said thoughtfully. She raised her hand to her mouth and began to bite at her nails, but Adora caught her and pulled her hand away gently. Catra smiled at the effort and continued. "I would normally say she'd be fine, but after yesterday...I don't even know."

Adora nodded. The pair made their way to the cafeteria and stopped.

"We'll just play it all by ear," Catra decided.

"I hate playing anything by ear," Adora said with a small pout.

Catra smiled, thinking about how cute Adora was. Her little pout and the way her arms were folded over one another, showing off her muscles.

"Don't worry about it," Catra said calmly. "It'll go smooth as a whistle."

"I think it's 'slick as a whistle,' " Adora said, amused.

"Let me have my broken metaphors!"

"That was a simile, actually," Adora said with a petulant smile.

Catra groaned. "Never talk to the smart kids." She patted Adora on the shoulder. "I'm gonna go get my meeting with Razz over with. I'll see you around?"

"I sure hope so," Adora replied, and the two parted ways.

Adora made her way further into the cafeteria and spotted Glimmer sitting in her usual spot. Adora was surprised to see that Bow was sitting with her. She headed over to the table immediately.

Glimmer watched her silently as she approached and Bow looked up at her with a desperate expression.

"Good morning, guys," Adora said as she pulled up a chair and sat down. She could immediately feel the tension at the table.

"Adora!" Bow celebrated. "It's nice to see you. I was just telling Glimmer how much we miss talking to her."

Adora looked over at Glimmer, who averted her gaze almost immediately. "We really do," Adora said honestly. "It feels so weird not being able to talk to you about things."

Glimmer cleared her throat. "Well apparently there were a lot of things that you _didn't_ talk to me about. Either of you."

Adora and Bow remained quiet and Glimmer sighed. She put Adora's backpack up on the table and slid it over to Adora.

"I just wanted to drop off your backpack. Hope you enjoyed your night, Adora," she said passive-aggressively as she stood up from the table and stormed off.

Adora put her head down as Glimmer walked past her and then slowly pulled her backpack over to herself.

Bow put a hand on her arm. "Hey, don't let it get to you too much. She just feels betrayed and she's lashing out."

"I know. But knowing that doesn't make it feel any better."

"Yeah you're right," Bow said, choking up a little.

Adora saw the boy bite at his lip and rub what she assumed were tears from his eye. She immediately scooted closer to him and wrapped her arms around him in a big hug that he immediately accepted.

"We haven't fought in such a long time," Bow said weakly. "And not like this. It just feels so...wrong."

"I know," Adora said, squeezing her friend a little tighter.

They stayed like that for a while before Bow chuckled a little to himself.

"What's so funny?" Adora asked, easing up on the hug.

"You smell like Catra."

Adora smiled. "Yeah I guess I do."

The two friends made plans to hang out sometime soon and catch up on everything.

* * *

Later that day, Adora was at her locker putting things away in between classes, when she heard footsteps rapidly approaching her from behind. She was planning on ignoring the sound until she heard her name.

She turned around and saw an out of breath Frosta standing doubled over in front of her.

"Frosta? Are you okay?" Adora asked hastily as she looked at the disheveled looking girl.

"I need another favor," she blurted out quickly and moved around Adora, positioning herself behind her. "Stand in front of me."

"Um…" Adora was entirely confused by what the girl wanted from her, but she did what she was asked. No matter how strange the request, Adora still felt that she owed Frosta a great deal for helping her in the fight with Lonnie.

"Good, good," Frosta said approvingly. "Now...roll up your sleeves."

Adora started to roll up one sleeve before narrowing her eyes. "What do my sleeves have to do w…"

Adora got her answer sooner than she had expected as a group of three younger kids, all looking to be freshman or maybe sophomores, approached Adora. The girl in front hardly paid attention to Adora and began to go around her to reach Frosta, who was positioned between Adora and the wall of lockers.

Adora had no idea what was happening, but she could see that this girl was angry and was shooting daggers at Frosta. Adora sidestepped and blocked the girl's path without a second thought.

The girl, who was much smaller than Adora, but definitely bigger than Frosta scowled up at her. "Leave us alone. We just want that little brat behind you."

Adora stayed where she was. "Not happening."

The girl frowned and her friends stepped up behind her. They were around the same size and were also eyeballing Frosta angrily.

Adora rolled up her sleeves at this point. More for intimidation than anything else. It seemed to have the desired effect as the kids saw the bulk of her arms and began to show obvious signs of doubt.

"Look," the girl in the front said. "Even if you protect her this time, we'll get to her when you're not around. We're not gonna beat her up or anything. Maybe just stuff her head in a toilet."

Adora felt Frosta step closer to her and she suddenly felt very protective of the young girl.

"How about this," Adora said firmly. "You never touch her. And if I hear that you did, I'll make sure you get worse than you gave her." Adora was surprised by her own words, but managed not to show any outward signs of indecision.

The girl wavered a little at this. She started to say something when one of her friends patted her on the shoulder. He spoke quietly, but Adora could hear what he was saying.

"I think that's the new kid who got in a fight at that football game last month. Did you see the other girl?"

The girl in the front frowned at this and then stomped her foot angrily. "Fine. Whatever," she said, visibly frustrated. "Protect your stupid friend or whatever. Screw you Frosta." She pointed at what she could see of the girl behind Adora and then turned away. "C'mon guys."

The group shuffled off and Adora waited until they were far enough away before she let out a sigh of relief and let down her guard.

"Adora! Thank you!" Came Frosta's voice from behind her and she turned around as Frosta gave her a big hug. "That was so cool! You were all like, 'Grrr don't mess with Frosta, she'll drop kick you into next week' and they were all like, 'Oh no you're right. That's scary. Wahhh!'" Frosta giggled loudly and finally let Adora free from the hug.

"Something like that," Adora said dismissively, pointing a hand at Frosta. "What exactly was that all about? Who were those kids?"

"Oh. Pshh. Just some random thugs."

Adora stared at Frosta disapprovingly until the girl buckled.

"Okay fine," Frosta said in a huff. "Her name is Holly. I used to do her homework and she'd pay me every week. I kind of have a network going. I make bank."

Honestly at this point, Adora wasn't even surprised that Frosta had set up an illegal homework ring and just listened intently as the girl continued.

"Anyway, one day Holly was all like, 'Hey I'm not paying you anymore, but you still gotta do my homework'. And, of course, I was like, 'Heck no'. And then she threatened me with physical force. And normally I would've laid her out right there, you know me. But then she showed up with those two goons. And so I kept doing her homework free of charge for a while. Which is totally unfair right?"

Adora opened her mouth to respond, but apparently it was a rhetorical question because Frosta kept on talking.

"And then last week I decided I'd had enough. So I purposefully failed, like, all of her homework assignments for that week. I even spelled her name wrong on one," Frosta said with a maniacal chuckle. "And then apparently she got her papers back this morning. So...you can imagine how that went. And luckily I have a big ol' tank of a friend!"

"Well I'm glad I could help," Adora said, looking down the hall and not seeing any sign of the kids who had gone after Frosta. "You're just getting in fights all the time, huh?"

Frosta shrugged and collected her things. "I've been told I have an abrasive personality."

Adora smirked at Frosta's observation. "Well I think it suits you."

Frosta looked up at Adora with a small amount of admiration in her eyes. "Thanks for that. And for helping me out back there. If they do end up getting me back, will you actually go beat them up?"

"I don't think my record can handle another fight," Adora admitted, rubbing the back of her neck. "But I don't think they'll mess with you anymore. And if they do...well...come talk to me and we'll figure something out."

Frosta nodded cooly at Adora. "Okay well I gotta get to class. I'll see you later, bodyguard."

Adora scoffed and waved Frosta off before heading to her next class.

* * *

Catra was headed to lunch, and already worrying about interacting with Scorpia, when she heard a familiar voice behind her yell, 'Think fast!'"

She whipped around and instantly saw a small object whizzing towards her. She instinctively batted at it and slapped it out of the air and onto the ground.

Bow stood in front of her with obvious discontent. "Well...you were supposed to catch it."

Catra bent down and picked up what looked like a small candy wrapped in plastic. It was still covered but it had cracked into a couple pieces.

"What is it?" Catra asked the boy, wondering if him throwing things at her was going to be a normal thing now.

"It's a little lemon sour," Bow said proudly. "A certain someone told me you were a fan of lemon."

Adora smiled and thought of Adora.

Bow noticed and grinned in response. "Whatcha thinking about? Or rather...who?"

"Oh shut up," Catra responded playfully. She unwrapped the candy and popped it into her mouth. "Thanks for the candy. It was great minus the whole chucking it at me."

"Hey I'm just trying to spice up your life!" Bow exclaimed. "I imagine you're heading to lunch too?"

"Yup," Catra said as Bow fell in line next to her and they started to make their way to the cafeteria.

Catra grew more and more nervous as she was reminded of having to interact with Scorpia. _"It's just Scorpia," _she told herself. _"It's not like she's a different person now."_

Bow began to tell her about a book he was reading and Catra honestly tried to listen, but ended up not paying any attention. Bow didn't notice, but he did trail off when they entered the wide open cafeteria area.

The sudden silence from the boy managed to catch Catra's attention and she studied him curiously as he scanned the lunchroom. Catra instantly knew why.

"You're looking for Glimmer."

Bow looked back at her sheepishly. "Maybe."

Catra nodded. "You don't have to stand with me if you don't want. I know you probably don't want her to see you with me."

Bow frowned. He looked horribly conflicted and Catra could see how much the whole situation was tearing him up.

"No...I wanna stay with you. I _am_ scared that she'll get even more upset if she sees us together but…" Bow bit the inside of his cheek and looked around the cafeteria again.

"It's okay, Bow," Catra said assuringly, feeling bad for her new friend. "I get it. I'm not hungry anyway so I'm gonna go sit. I'll see you around." She broke off from the line and headed towards her table.

"I...okay, see you," Bow called after her forlornly.

Catra had been trying to make his choice easier, but she felt like he was just more upset now. She sighed and sucked on what remained of her candy as she saw that the table was empty.

She instantly felt the knot in her stomach loosen slightly and she went and took her usual spot. She nervously sat and watched the lunch line inch along slowly, hoping Adora would get there before Scorpia did.

This hope was quickly dashed as Catra saw Scorpia head out of the kitchen and walk out into the cafeteria. Catra groaned and took a few deep breaths. _"Be normal, Catra. It's just Scorpia. Just the same old Scorpia. Who apparently just has a huge crush on you, that's all."_

As Scorpia neared the table, Catra turned and pretended she hadn't seen her coming. "Oh hey, Scorpia," she said a little too quickly. "How are you?"

"Uh…" Scorpia said slowly as she inched towards her own seat and sat down. "I'm alright. Doing better than yesterday."

"That's good." Catra looked around the cafeteria a bit.

Scorpia began to eat and neither of them talked for about a minute straight. Which was very unusual for them.

"You're not hungry today?" Scorpia asked eventually.

"Hm? Oh. Yeah I'm just not feeling the whole food thing right now." Catra paused, trying to think of something that her and Scorpia would normally talk about when things weren't so weird. "So...it's pretty cold out, huh?"

Catra heard Scorpia exhale beside her. "Yeah it's cold."

Both girls knew that their dynamic had shifted. It was painfully obvious as much as neither of them wanted to admit it.

Scorpia blamed herself and wished for the hundredth time that she had never told Catra how she felt. She couldn't help but feel like she had ruined her closest friendship.

To make matters worse, Scorpia had to watch as Catra continued to check the lunch line nervously. Probably waiting for Adora to come and distract her from the shipwreck that was their friendship right now.

"Hey, I'm gonna go sit on my own today, I think," Scorpia said.

"What?" Catra drew her attention away from the line. "But we always sit here. I...I mean I was wondering if maybe, possibly Adora could sit here too, but…"

Scorpia started to stand up. "That sounds fine. But I just…it feels weird sitting around and pretending things aren't weird."

"Things aren't weird!" Catra protested.

Scorpia gave Catra a pressing look and watched as Catra slowly began to soften as she nodded solemnly.

"Okay, maybe things are a little different, but we just have to adapt."

"I want to," Scorpia said with a nod, picking up her tray. "But I'm just not ready yet. I'll see you after school, I'm sure."

"Yeah." Catra watched as her friend walked off and sat at an empty table across the room.

Catra reclined in her chair and rubbed her temples slowly. She shot a look over to Adora's usual table and saw Bow sitting there alone. He was probably waiting for Glimmer. Catra wondered if Glimmer would actually sit with him or not.

Catra chuckled mirthlessly at how simply choosing where to sit and eat lunch was such a big deal.

Glimmer was the next to exit the kitchen and Catra perked up. Watching intently to see what the girl would do.

Glimmer shot a glance over to her usual table and saw that Bow was sitting there. She hesitated and there was a very brief moment where Catra thought she would go and sit with him, but then Glimmer scanned the rest of the room.

There weren't any empty tables at this point and Catra watched as she glanced around, undecidedly. And then she seemed to make up her mind as she walked briskly over to a table where only one other person was sitting. Scorpia.

Catra watched, confused, as Glimmer set her tray down on the table, sitting across from Scorpia.

Catra stood up a little in her seat and watched from across the room. Now they were talking. About something.

She narrowed her eyes and gripped the side of her chair tightly. _"What is Glimmer thinking!? Is this some kind of a revenge plan?"_

Catra wondered if she should go over and scare Glimmer off. But then again, she didn't wanna start anything with the girl and risk worsening the whole situation.

Catra was so focused on trying to read their lips that she hardly noticed when Adora tapped her on the shoulder. Catra looked up, surprised, as Adora sat down in the seat next to her. The seat Scorpia usually took.

Bow was with her and he sat down next to Adora. He looked pretty upset.

Adora patted him on the back and turned to Catra. She nodded in the direction where Scorpia and Glimmer were sitting. "So...things have changed a bit, huh?"

"Yeah they really have," Catra said as she scooted nearer to Adora.

* * *

"Hey."

Scorpia looked up from her tray as she heard the greeting and saw Glimmer standing across the table, tray in hand. Scorpia blinked a few times to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

"Hi," Scorpia said, a little confused, as the girl pulled a seat out and sat down. Glimmer huffed and ripped open the top of her milk carton, taking a big swig.

"Long time, no see," Glimmer said without actually looking at Scorpia.

"Wow. Yeah you can say that again," Scorpia said. "It's been since...well, y'know…"

"Yeah," Glimmer said, leaning back in her chair. "I didn't mean to stop hanging out with you by the way. I just couldn't be around Catra and you couldn't _not_ be around her."

"I completely understand," Scorpia said. "It was a confusing time. But...luckily you found Bow and seemed to hit it off with him."

Glimmer scowled. "Yeah. Thank goodness for Bow," she said sarcastically, shooting a look over at Catra's table. She saw Bow, Adora, and Catra all looking over at her already and they instantly looked away when she made eye contact with them.

Scorpia tracked Glimmer's gaze to the table and then looked back at the girl questioningly. "Glimmer it's cool seeing you and I am always thankful for a lunch buddy, but...why are you...here?"

Glimmer looked at Scorpia and seemed to weigh something in her head before she spoke. "Well my _friends_," she used her fingers to make air quotes as she said the word, "are too busy being obsessed with Catra to care about me. It's like middle school all over again."

Scorpia's face twisted up in confusion and she looked back over at the table where Catra sat. Once again, all three members of the table quickly looked away as they met each other's gaze from across the room.

"Bow too, huh? See, I knew about Adora, but I had no idea Bow and Catra even knew each other."

Glimmer laughed bluntly. "Yeah neither did I." She took an angry bite out of her pizza. "So that's why I'm here. Plus I thought it would be poetic or something if we ended up sitting together. What I wanna know is why you're over here."

Scorpia looked suddenly guilty. "I'm... it's kind of a... related matter."

Glimmer cocked her head slightly. "Are you and Catra fighting? Or...hmm...is it that she's hanging out with those two now?"

"No it's not...I mean...kind of... it's a personal matter," Scorpia said quickly.

"Well I haven't seen you in a while, but I remember that look," Glimmer said as she observed the girl. "You're embarrassed about something. And I _think_ I know exactly what it is." Glimmer smiled proudly.

Scorpia looked up. She had not expected to talk to Glimmer today and it was proving to be an incredibly strange experience. She was still so similar, but so many things had changed. "I mean, you probably don't know, but I don't wanna talk about it."

Glimmer accepted the challenge and leaned towards Scorpia. "One guess. And if I get it right, you have to tell me I'm right."

Scorpia scratched the side of her head nervously. "Oh, I don't know. That seems really...high stakes."

"It'll be like when we used to guess each other's crushes back in the day," Glimmer said with a smile. "Give me one go. For old time's sake."

Scorpia pursed her lips and thought about it for a moment. "Alright. You can guess once, but then we aren't talking about it anymore. You have to...pinky promise."

Glimmer chuckled. "Man, this really is like middle school." She extended her pinky across the table and Scorpia accepted it. They hooked their pinkies and shook lightly.

Glimmer withdrew her hand and studied Scorpia. "Now I'm gonna guess based on what I've always hardcore theorized about. Using hints from back when I hung out with you and..._her_." Glimmer said this distastefully and Scorpia waited in a kind of nervous anticipation to see what she would say.

"I think," Glimmer continued, "that you...are _jealous._" She paused for effect and got an instant result from Scorpia's face.

"I…" Scorpia responded quickly. "Jealous? What would I even have to be jealous of?"

Glimmer grinned at Scorpia's defensiveness. "Adora." The one word caused more of a reaction than Glimmer had expected as Scorpia's face seemed to grow red.

"Why would I...Adora? I hardly know her…I mean she's in my weights class, that's all." Scorpia fumbled over her words. "I don't like this game. Why did I even agree to this?"

Glimmer was only becoming more enthused now that she knew she was on the right track. It was all coming together now and Glimmer was practically out of her chair as she leaned towards Scorpia. "You like Catra, don't you?" She asked with a confident smile.

"I...woah...uh...what…" Scorpia stuttered as she looked around her for an excuse to leave.

Glimmer pumped her fist into the air. "I knew it! I've been holding onto that for literal years! I thought so! You've had it bad for her for a long time, huh?"

"No." Scorpia denied quickly, shaking her head vigorously. "Catra and I are just best buds. I don't know what you're talking about."

"Hey we pinky promised that you'd tell me the truth if I guessed it. That's sacred." Glimmer stared at Scorpia expectantly.

Scorpia considered leaving the table suddenly, but ultimately decided against it. She sighed deeply and looked around her to make sure nobody was listening before lowering her voice and responding. "You can't tell anyone."

Glimmer laughed loudly and celebrated some more. "Oh man. I knew it!" She calmed down a bit and lowered her voice as well. "What are the chances of this? My foster sister moves into town and of _aaalll_ the people she could possibly fall in love with, it's Catra. I mean...that's almost cosmically ironic."

Scorpia frowned as she heard Glimmer say this. She hadn't considered herself jealous before, but now that Glimmer had brought it up, she was starting to wonder how jealous she really was of Adora.

"And now look at us," Glimmer said quietly. "The side effects of a crazy coincidence. Both left behind by our best friends so they can be with each other."

"We weren't...left behind," Scorpia said, somewhat unconvinced.

"Oh yeah? What does this look like, then? They're over there, having a great time and loving each other. And they don't care that we're not with them."

"No," Scorpia objected, trying not to believe what Glimmer said. "Catra and I were just talking. We're still friends."

"I mean, sure. For now. But it'll get weird with Adora being there too. And then it'll be all awkward and then she'll probably abandon you like she abandoned me."

"I…" Scorpia trailed off as Glimmer's words hit her harder than she had thought. It _had_ been awkward with Catra earlier. Maybe this was just the first step in Catra phasing her out and replacing her with Adora.

Glimmer was so caught up in her own anger that she just barely noticed the tears welling up in Scorpia's eyes.

"Oh…" Glimmer said suddenly as she realized that maybe she should've dialed it back a bit. She looked around her nervously. "Uh…"

Scorpia hid her face and propped her head up with her arms, facing down at the table.

Glimmer felt instantly guilty. Scorpia had always been right by Catra's side. And clearly she had felt a lot more for her than she had ever let on. Glimmer considered for the first time that when she had dated Catra, it had probably been really hard for Scorpia.

Glimmer wondered if maybe this whole situation was hitting Scorpia even worse than herself. Losing a friend _and_ someone she loved at the same time. Glimmer frowned as she realized she was probably just making Scorpia feel worse.

Glimmer shook her head as she realized how unexpected this whole situation was and made up her mind as she got up from her seat and went and sat down next to Scorpia.

Scorpia tilted her head upwards and regarded Glimmer. "What are you doing?"

"I don't know," Glimmer said honestly as she tentatively patted Scorpia on the shoulder. "I, uh, didn't mean to get so...negative. I mean, maybe everything will work out, y'know?"

Scorpia sniffled and looked up at her. "Do you really think that or are you just saying it?"

"Uh…" Glimmer thought about it. She glanced over at Catra's table once again, and somehow managed to make eye contact with all three of them again. They sure were interested in what was going on over here. That must mean that they cared to some degree. Bow and Adora at least had been constantly pestering her to try and get her to talk. So maybe there was a chance that Catra cared too. And that she wouldn't just let Scorpia slip away.

Glimmer looked back to Scorpia. "Yeah. I think there's actually a solid fifty-fifty chance things will stay alright between you two. You and Catra have always been super close. It'll be fine." Glimmer patted her on the shoulder again. "I pinky promise."

A smile slowly spread on Scorpia's face as she looked at Glimmer hopefully and extended her pinky.

* * *

"I don't like it," Catra said, tapping her foot anxiously as she sat in the auditorium seats, waiting for Double Trouble to show up so they could start theater practice.

Adora sighed, sitting in the chair next to Catra. "I don't know why you're still so hung up on this. Glimmer might be upset about everything, but she isn't trying to manipulate Scorpia or something."

"She could be," Catra disagreed. "They haven't even talked in years! There's no reason why Glimmer would just sit with her unless she was trying to get something out of it. Like to get to me or something."

"Glimmer wouldn't do that."

"Why are you still defending her when she won't even talk to you?" Catra asked, her brow creasing.

"Well she's still my friend. And I know her. She isn't scheming anything."

Catra groaned. She put her arm back around the seat that Adora sat in, almost wrapping her arm around her, but not actually touching her. "I trust you, Adora. I trust you entirely."

"Thank you," Adora said honestly as she watched Catra's eyes.

"But…" Catra started.

"Oh no, here it comes," Adora said with a smile.

Catra snickered. "Okay I'm not gonna do anything crazy. But I'm keeping an eye out!"

"Yeah maybe you can recruit Bow again and interrogate all her friends without her knowing," Adora said jokingly.

"Hey I feel bad enough about it on my own," Catra said.

"I'm just teasing ya," Adora explained. She was going to keep talking, but the doors to the auditorium opened and the girls turned around to see Double Trouble. They looked like they were in a bad mood.

The girls watched as their theater director stomped up towards the stage and met the girls in the first row of seats. They had a big uneasy look on their face and their posture was more slumped than usual. They cleared their throat as they turned to face the girls, sitting on the edge of the stage.

"So...we have a problem. More specifically...you have a problem," they said somberly.

"What's wrong?" Adora asked.

"Well it was...that little altercation last Friday night. With you two and those other kids."

"Yeah, what about it?" Catra asked impatiently.

Double Trouble tugged at their collar. "Well. You see, since Principal Hope assigned you two to theater, she's been checking in. She'll call me in some mornings and I'll tell her how you two are doing. See if you're staying out of trouble and all. And…well…" Double Trouble bit their lip and paused.

"Just tell us what happened," Catra insisted.

"I had to tell her about the little disagreement you had the other night," Double Trouble blurted out. "And it was...not pretty. She's not very happy that you two are still fighting with your classmates. And well...you see...she said...that she'd have to be splitting you two up. Taking one of you away from theater. Away from us. I'm sorry."

Catra and Adora looked on in shock.

"Wh...when?" Adora asked.

"Probably tomorrow," Double Trouble said softly. "I'm sorry."

Catra growled. "Shoot! I'm so sick of Principal Hope trying to control us!"

Adora frowned and put a hand on Catra's shoulder to calm her as she gritted her teeth.

Double Trouble began to laugh.

Catra looked up in surprise, shooting daggers at Double Trouble, who was still chuckling quietly.

"What are you laughing about?" Catra asked, annoyed.

Adora looked at Double Trouble's growing smile and realized what had happened before they said anything.

Double Trouble bounced up onto the balls of their feet, balancing on the ledge of the stage, and threw their arms out beside them. "Acting!"

Catra stared, absolutely dumbfounded, at their grinning face as it finally dawned on her what had happened.

"I'm actually gonna kill them," Catra said matter-of-factly as she began to stand up from her seat before Adora pulled her back down.

"Haha! Take notes, girls!" Double Trouble exclaimed ecstatically. "You were fully immersed!"

"Wh…" Catra started, out of breath. "That wasn't even acting! Literally all you did was lie to us!"

"Oh, honey," Double Trouble said suavely. "Some of the best acting comes out when you're hiding the truth."

"That was pretty screwed up," Adora admitted. "Was it all fake?"

"Oh, but of course. I would never rat out my precious theater babies."

"Yeah well your precious theater baby is really considering 'acting out' a fight scene right now," Catra said gruffly.

"Oh dear," Double Trouble said slowly, sitting back down on the stage. "I didn't mean to get you both so upset, truly. And I humbly apologize. I merely wanted to showcase a little bit of what you'll be doing today."

Catra grumbled to herself.

"We're starting acting today?" Adora asked.

"Well...loosely. We'll start on the lines here soon. I mean, you do have to start sometime. And you already got a warm up with all the drama onstage last Friday." Double Trouble saw Adora frown at the memory and felt a little bad. "Look, I'll stay out of it. I may appear to be a jerk, but I'm really just a jerk who's ferociously loyal. Theater's like a little family. So on that note if you ever need help with anything just let me know."

Adora nodded and Catra rolled her eyes.

"Now if you two would join me on the stage?" They extended their hands and helped both girls up onto the platform. "Now have either of you ever acted before?"

"Nope," Adora replied immediately.

"I was in a commercial once for a school project," Catra said passively.

"Okay! So not a _ton_ of experience, but we are aware of the concept at least. Do either of you have an inspiration? An actor from a movie? A favorite play? Something like that?"

"Oh! One time in my foster home we got to go see a Little Shop of Horrors musical."

"Ahah! Nice! What did you think?"

"I really liked it," Adora admitted. "The songs were stuck in my head for weeks."

"Perfect. And you, Catra?"

Catra was still trying to think of inspiration. "Um...I don't know. I like…Emma Watson...I guess?"

"Hmmm, okay," Double Trouble said curiously. "Why so?"

"Uh. She's pretty?"

Adora couldn't help but laugh and even Double Trouble cracked a smile.

"Okay well that's not _exactly_ what I was going for, but it'll do. As long as her beauty inspires you to be a better actor."

"Probably will," Catra said with a nod.

"Alright then, channel that. For our first exercise we're going to be building chemistry between you two."

Both girls were suddenly much more interested and Double Trouble smiled widely. "The most compelling part of this play is the unexpected draw between your characters. You have to sell it. You have to know each other. Trust each other. So. We'll start with a basic."

Double Trouble walked over behind the stage curtains and pulled out an old, wooden chair, dragging it to center stage. "The trust fall! Tried and true."

"Easy," Catra said as she walked up to the chair. She stood by the front of the chair and eyed Adora expectantly.

"Oh shoot, I have to go first?"

"What do you not trust me?" Catra asked with a lopsided grin.

"Of course I do," Adora said defiantly as she marched up to the chair and got up onto it, facing away from Catra. "I just hope you're strong enough to catch me!"

Adora heard Catra gasp from behind her. "Hey, I'm at an average strength level! You've seen me lift in weights!"

"That's why I'm worried," Adora explained with a chuckle.

Double Trouble watched on, amused by their interactions.

"Okay I'm gonna fall back on the count of three, okay?" Adora asked tentatively and Catra agreed. Adora took a breath and steeled herself, reminding herself that it was Catra behind her. She would never let her fall. "One. Two. Three."

Adora fell straight backwards with her arms at her sides. There was a brief moment where her adrenaline spiked and she thought she would hit the ground, but then she felt Catra's arms around her and smiled in relief.

"See that wasn't so bad was it?" Catra asked, propping Adora back up onto her feet.

"Not bad at all," Adora said with a wide smile, invigorated by the fall. "Your turn."

Catra confidently stepped up onto the chair and it creaked loudly. She turned around and readied herself. "Okay well I have no doubt you'll be ab…"

Catra's words turned into a sharp yelp as a loud snap came from the chair below her and she suddenly felt the chair tip. She immediately lost her balance and tumbled off to the side. She was absolutely certain she was about to hit the ground and braced for impact, when she felt arms beneath her at the last moment.

Catra opened her eyes, her breath heavy and her heart beating loudly, to see Adora's concerned face. Adora had managed to catch Catra without letting her touch the ground at all. She was cradled in her arms as Adora supported her beneath her legs and under her back.

"Are you okay?" Adora asked.

"I…" Catra lost her ability to speak as she looked up at Adora from within her arms and felt an extremely strong urge to kiss her.

The moment was broken up almost immediately as Double Trouble ran up.

"Ah! Are you okay!? If we get any injuries onstage I think we're legally liable!"

Adora lowered Catra and let her feet touch the ground as she stood up. "Yeah I'm fine. Thanks to Adora. And no thanks to that crappy old chair." Catra shot a dirty look at the broken chair that was laying on its side, one leg snapped off.

"Well that's one way to do a trust fall," Adora said amusedly.

Catra shot Adora a grateful look and Adora felt pride well up in her.

"I suppose if this proves literally anything it's that you can trust one another!" Double Trouble reasoned.

"Yeah and that you need new chairs," Catra mumbled.

"Anyway," Double Trouble continued, pretending not to hear Catra's comment. "Now we're going to do another activity to get you two more comfortable with each other."

"We're pretty comfortable already," Catra said with a shrug and Adora nodded in agreement.

"Well then this should be no problem. What we're gonna do is have one of you tell the other person something about yourself that is either a truth or a lie. And then they'll guess if it's true or not. You do that and I'm gonna go check on some of the lights that Entrapta has been tinkering with."

"Sounds good," Catra called after them as they hopped off the stage. "This should be pretty easy."

"Yeah and there's no way you'll fall and hurt yourself this time," Adora joked. "You wanna go first?"

"Sure." Catra thought for a moment. "Okay, here's one. One time I got kicked out of a petting zoo."

Adora laughed and replied immediately. "Yeah that's definitely true."

Catra smiled wryly. "Yeah you got that one. I jiggled a cow's udder and laughed about it and one of the workers caught me and made me leave. What buzzkills."

"Well how old were you?"

"I...I'm keeping that information to myself."

"Oh gosh," Adora said with a grin. "Okay I have one now. Once, when I was actually staying in another foster home, I broke an urn that had a dead person's ashes in it and then I hid the evidence in my closet."

"Ohhhhh," Catra said slowly, stroking her chin. "That's. Hmmm. It's specific. But maybe _too _specific." She looked Adora over for a few moments, but didn't get much from Adora's face. "Lie."

Adora laughed maniacally. "Truth!" She exclaimed victoriously.

"You did not."

"I did! A total accident of course. It was their grandfather and I hid his ashes in my closet. Stained the floor real bad. And of course they found out."

"Wow," Catra said nodding in approval. "I somehow respect you even more now."

Adora waved a hand dismissively. "Just take your turn."

Catra smiled and began to think up another one. She settled down into the stage, sitting cross-legged and Adora followed suit.

"Okay. When I was three I had a pet turtle named Bucklins and I slept with him every night."

"Nah. Fake. Bucklins is the fakest name."

"True," Catra said, savoring Adora's look of disbelief.

"Well that's adorable. Why Bucklins? What does that even mean?"

Catra shrugged. "Hey man, I just saw a turtle and named it. Your turn! I'm still down by one."

"It's not a competition," Adora said, amused.

"Oh that's what you think."

Adora rolled her eyes and thought for a couple moments.

"I hate blueberries."

"Oh that's a short one," Catra said thoughtfully. "Well your eye twitched a little when you said it so I'm gonna say it's a lie."

"Another truth," Adora said with a satisfied tone.

"You're cheating," Catra said quickly. "I know you so well. You're just a better actor."

Adora laughed. "I'll give you an easy one next time."

"I don't want your handouts. I'm going. You talk in your sleep."

"Wh…do I really?" Adora asked.

"Well you tell me. That's my statement."

Adora looked into Catra's eyes in an attempt to catch her lying.

"I'm a steel trap," Catra said slowly as she noticed Adora inspecting her.

"I think I'd know if I talked in my sleep. Lie."

"Shoot. Lucky guess," Catra said crossing her arms. "Now give me a hard one. I want to get at least one right."

"If you insist," Adora said, cracking her knuckles intimidatingly. She tapped on the stage rhythmically as she thought up a good one. After a few moments she smiled to herself. "Okay here we go."

Catra scooted up to her. Her eyes shone fierce with determination.

"Way back in that detention when we hardly knew each other and we had to write three positive things about each other. You remember?"

Catra nodded slowly.

"I wrote that you were funny. That you were surprisingly kind. And that you had a nice smile."

Catra looked surprised by the question and it took her a few moments to collect herself. "Oh. Wow that's a throwback. I...hmm…well I _want_ it to be true. But you didn't like me back then. And...my smile? No way. Nope. That's gotta be a lie."

Adora sighed softly and shook her head. "You really are bad at this."

"I…" Catra wasn't even upset that she had guessed wrong again. "Did you mean it when you wrote it or were you just putting things down?"

"Oh I meant it," Adora said with a smile. "Tell me if I'm lying."

Catra searched Adora's gaze and saw nothing but tenderness and affection. Catra felt as comforted now as she did when Adora had caught her. Nobody had ever looked at her that way before. She cleared her throat.

"True?"

A smile crept across Adora's face. "You finally got one right."

_**Big feels. And Scorpia and Glimmer! An extremely fun grouping to write and I can't wait to do more with them. And I'll tell you what, angry Glimmer is fun to write, but if I have to make Bow cry one more time I'm gonna lose it. Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoy and I really hope you all stay safe and healthy! Bye!**_


	28. Chapter 28

Adora sat in Glimmer's car on the way to school Tuesday morning. She was fiddling with her hands anxiously as the silent car ride continued. She looked over at Glimmer, who was focused on the road, her face blank.

"Glimmer can we talk now?" Adora asked quietly.

"There's nothing to talk about," Glimmer responded curtly, maintaining her focus on the road.

"Um...there kinda is though," Adora disagreed. "This is...the worst. And I can keep apologizing, but I just wanna know what'll get you to talk to me and Bow again."

Glimmer stayed quiet for a while. Her face didn't show Adora any hint of emotion. After a while she cleared her throat. "Don't pin this on me, Adora," she said coldly. "I wasn't the one who started all this."

"But…" Adora started weakly. "How are we supposed to work this out if you won't cooperate?"

Glimmer shook her head in disbelief and Adora watched her grip tighten around the steering wheel.

"Maybe we won't work it out," Glimmer said under her breath, just loud enough for Adora to hear.

Adora opened her mouth to protest, but she didn't want to turn this into an argument and risk making things worse. Instead she slumped back down into her seat.

They rode the rest of the way in silence.

* * *

Adora sat in her world history class, a little distracted, Glimmer still occupying her mind.

However, she wasn't distracted enough to miss the words 'group project' from the teacher. Adora instantly bristled at the phrase. If there was one thing she hated the most about school it was group projects. She hated meeting new people and she always ended up doing all the work for the rest of the group.

Adora listened intently to what the teacher was telling them. They were all going to be partnered up and would be creating a project that pointed out the various aspects of a chosen country. Adora thought history was interesting and she normally would have enjoyed this project if it weren't for the fact that she'd wind up with some random student as a partner.

Adora scanned the room out of the corner of her eye. She hadn't even spoken to any of these people before. Well. Except for one.

Lonnie was seated in the back corner of the classroom. Adora couldn't see her from where she sat, but she knew the girl was back there.

Lonnie hadn't interacted with her at all since the football game. Adora had offered her a ride one time when she was walking in the cold, but other than that they had managed to stay clear of one another.

Adora was relieved that Lonnie didn't seem to be interested in messing with her anymore, but she felt more conflicted about it all than anything. After Catra had told her about Lonnie's parents, Adora hadn't been able to shake a feeling of pity for the girl.

Adora had known plenty of kids who had been hardened by tough conditions and took it out on others. And seeing Lonnie in that perspective made Adora feel generally uncomfortable.

She had no plans to try and reach out or anything, but she at least tried not to make any assumptions about the girl.

Adora returned her attention to the teacher and waited for the inevitable. And sure enough, within minutes they were calling out pairs of names.

Adora waited anxiously as the teacher rattled off more names, eyeing her classmates. And then eventually she heard her name. And immediately wished she hadn't.

"Adora and Lonnie."

_"How?" _Adora thought to herself, shocked by the sheer chance of this even happening. Adora could almost feel Lonnie's eyes burning into the back of her head and she fought the urge to turn around. _"Of course this would happen. I wish Catra was here."_

Adora continued to fret, right up until the teacher finished calling names and told them to get with their partner and figure out which country they wanted to report on.

Adora remained in her seat for a few moments as all of the people surrounding her began to move around and greet their partners. Then she took a deep breath and slowly turned around.

Lonnie was still sitting in the back corner, staring at Adora. She looked away when they made eye contact and Adora felt a wave of anxiety. She thought about asking the teacher to reassign her with a new partner, but she didn't want to start a scene.

So she reluctantly made her way over to where Lonnie sat. When she approached, Lonnie looked up at her.

"This isn't gonna work," she said bluntly. Then she stood up and walked over to the teacher. Adora followed slowly and listened as Lonnie explained in no uncertain terms that her and Adora couldn't work together.

The teacher looked at Lonnie and then over at Adora. "Well I'm sure you two can manage to get along for a few class periods. You don't have to do much, just work together."

Lonnie grunted and turned away from the desk, darting back to her desk. Adora wavered briefly before following and approaching the girl once again as she sat in her desk, fuming.

"Look, I'm not a big fan of this either. Trust me," Adora told Lonnie. "But all we have to do is a quick project. We'll each do separate things and we don't even have to talk much."

Lonnie shut her eyes for a period of time. Adora had started to wonder if Lonnie had even heard what she said when the girl opened her eyes again and nodded. "Yeah I guess we can just do something easy."

"Cool," Adora said awkwardly as she looked around her. She pulled up a desk and placed it as far from Lonnie as she could without being unable to communicate with her.

Adora took her seat and waited for Lonnie to say something. After a while it became clear that Adora would have to guide things, so she begrudgingly spoke up. "So...do you have a certain country you wanna cover?"

Lonnie shook her head almost immediately.

"Okay...nice," Adora said slowly. "How about, like, Egypt or something?"

Lonnie replied with a shrug.

"Is...is that a yes? Or…" Adora was starting to see the futility of this partnership and started to consider just ignoring Lonnie and doing the whole project herself.

"I mean, sure," Lonnie said despondently.

"Okay," Adora squirmed uneasily in her chair. "Egypt…any ideas?"

"Nope."

"Thought not," Adora said with a slow nod. "Okay. I'm just gonna start doing some research. You can...do that too."

Lonnie didn't respond and Adora honestly didn't care. At this point it was easier just to ignore her and work alone.

Adora started compiling the information they would need on her school-issued laptop. Occasionally she would glance over at Lonnie. She had her laptop open and was passively looking over her screen. Adora couldn't tell if she was actually helping out or if she was just doing her own thing.

They worked like that for a while. The groups around them were talking and planning and occasionally laughing, but Adora and Lonnie sat without speaking.

Just when Adora had created a PowerPoint and was committed to starting it on her own, she heard Lonnie speak.

"Hey…"

Adora looked up quickly and was surprised to see that the girl was actually making eye contact with her and not looking away. Looking into her eyes reminded Adora of the fight and she receded a little bit. "Yeah?"

"Why did you ask me to get in your car a while back?" Lonnie asked this and then looked back at her desk, scratching at her throat.

"Oh," Adora responded, caught a little off guard. "Well it was really cold. I thought maybe you'd...want a ride."

Lonnie looked uncomfortable for a brief moment before she wordlessly went back to typing on her laptop.

Adora was confused and slowly went back to her work. She had barely started on the PowerPoint again when Lonnie swiveled her computer around.

"I made a PowerPoint. Figured we could put the research in these slides."

"Huh," Adora said as she reached over and scrolled down through the slides. She had created one for each major topic and had already formatted them. "Yeah that's... that's pretty good actually. Yeah. I'll share the stuff I found with you and you can share that PowerPoint with me."

"Sounds good," Lonnie said, turning her computer back around.

From that point on, the two managed to get a lot more done as they worked together. They were able to avoid talking for the rest of the class, but by the end they had a good start to their presentation.

* * *

"Hi, Adora," Kyle greeted her as she sat down at Catra's table, which still felt new and strange to her. Catra wasn't there yet and it was just her and Kyle.

"Hey, Kyle," Adora said as she took her seat.

"How's your day been?"

"Not _awful_. Not great either."

"Oh I'm sorry. What happened?" Kyle asked.

Adora weighed whether she should tell Kyle about working with Lonnie or not. She knew that Kyle had known Lonnie and she wasn't sure how close they were. But she liked Kyle. He was sweet and had been nothing but nice to her and Bow since they had started sitting with them.

"Well I got partnered with Lonnie in my History class. So that's...a little charged."

"Oh," Kyle said with a frown. "Yeah that sucks. Sorry you have to deal with that."

"Yeah," Adora said slowly. "You know her don't you?"

"Yeah. She was definitely closer to the others than to me, but we all hung out together sometimes. Trust me, though, I know she can be a jerk. And what she did to you was way too far. We haven't talked since."

"Hmm. Why, uh… why do you think she's so...so…"

"Aggressively hateful?"

"Yeah, that."

Kyle sighed and tilted his head back. "I don't know. I mean, I can guess. She hates her parents. She hates school. She gets in a lot of dumb fights. You put all that together and I imagine you don't have much to be happy about."

Adora winced. "Probably not."

"But…" Kyle said in an elevated tone, clearly trying to change the subject. "I just wanna know, and tell me if I'm asking too much, but are you and Catra...like...official?"

Adora immediately felt the heat rush to her face. "Uh…we're…"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get you all flustered," Kyle said apologetically.

"No, no it's fine," Adora said, starting to cool down. "I'm just so unused to the whole...me and Catra thing. Especially if it's public knowledge now. Did she tell you?"

Kyle laughed. "Catra telling me about her personal life? No way. But it's pretty painfully obvious. I mean, at lunch yesterday she gave you her pudding. She's _never_ done that before. That's dedication."

Adora smiled. "Yeah she's...she's really great. But no, we're not, like, _technically _official yet."

"Yet?" Kyle asked excitedly.

"Yet," Adora said with a grin. It was weird to be so open about this with someone who was almost a complete stranger, but to be honest, she was so excited about all of it that she felt like she was going to burst and telling anybody was a great way to get it out of her system.

Kyle smiled at her answer. "Well I'm happy for both of you."

"What are we happy for?" Bow asked, walking up and taking a seat by Adora.

Kyle just grinned and Adora looked around nervously.

"Oh no. I know that look," Bow said with a pout. "You're talking about some juicy drama without your boy, Bow. I'm both offended and curious. Fill me in."

Adora sighed and checked to make sure Catra still wasn't out of the lunch line before turning to Bow. "We were talking about, y'know, me and...Catra."

Bow lit up and scooted forward in his seat. "Well now I'm even more upset I wasn't invited. Any new developments?"

"No, no, nothing like that," Adora replied, waving her hand. "Oh. Well. I mean she did kind of...we're going to the Fall Formal together."

Kyle and Bow gasped in unison and Adora tried to shield her face.

"I knew it," Kyle muttered to himself.

"That's everything," Bow said excitedly. "You know what? What are you doing after school today?"

"Not anything after theater practice. Why?"

"Well we gotta get you ready! That dance is next week! We have to get you something to wear!"

"Oh wow," Adora said, a little overwhelmed. "I didn't even think of that."

"Exactly. I'll be your guru. And Kyle, you can come too if you want," Bow offered.

"I would, but Rogelio and I have these Tuesday dates where we go and get gelato and I don't wanna skip it."

"Okay. Well that's heartachingly adorable," Bow said, smiling. He turned his attention back to Adora. "Does that work?"

"I mean, yeah," Adora said. "I guess. I don't have, like, a ton of money though."

"Well you can ask Angella and if all else fails I would be _honored_ to get clothes for you."

"Well thanks, Bow, but I wouldn't let you do that." Adora smiled as she actually began to get excited. She hated clothes shopping with a passion, but the idea of picking out something with Catra in mind was thrilling. She was thinking of what she would like when a troubling thought popped into her head. "Should we...well...maybe not…" she muttered cryptically, causing Bow to cock his head.

"What?"

"Well... should we try inviting Glimmer?"

Bow looked hurt as the suggestion hit him. "She would love it. If she's ready."

Adora scanned the lunch room and saw that Glimmer was sitting over where she had the other day and was talking to Scorpia again.

"I don't know if she is. She was still upset this morning. But she would love it…"

Bow stood up from his seat. "I'm gonna go ask."

"Really?" Adora asked. "Right now?"

"I mean, now or never. You wanna come with me?"

Adora weighed her options briefly before making up her mind. "I don't want to. But I'm not gonna let you do it alone."

"Thanks," Bow said gratefully and he instantly seemed more at ease.

"Well I'm not entirely sure what's going on, but good luck," Kyle said supportively.

Adora and Bow thanked him and then made their way over to where Glimmer sat.

* * *

Glimmer was talking to Scorpia when she spotted the pair making their way over and her expression soured.

Scorpia tracked her gaze to where Adora and Bow were and looked back at Glimmer, her mouth forming an 'o'.

"Oh boy," she said worriedly. "Should I leave? Or...hide?"

"No, you're fine," Glimmer said distractedly as Bow and Adora reached the table. Bow was in front and Adora stood a little bit behind him.

"Hey, Glimmer," Bow said quietly. "We were wondering...uh...if you wanted to go to the mall after school. With us."

Glimmer looked at both of them. "I…" She paused. She realized that she actually did want to go to the mall with them. She missed hanging out with them. Then again, another part of her stubbornly reminded her that she was supposed to be mad at them. "...I don't know...maybe...what are you going for?"

"Well, y'know…" Bow said casually. "Just the usual. Snacks. Maybe a nice dress. More snacks."

Glimmer perked up at this, but tried not to show her excitement. "Dress shopping? That's fun…"

Bow and Adora looked on expectantly. Scorpia was trying to stay separated from everything and was sipping at her milk slowly.

Glimmer was surprised by how badly she wanted to just go to the mall with them and forget everything. To just pretend nothing had happened and have her friends back. But she couldn't. That was too easy. They had _lied _to her. They had both been in some secret relationship with _Catra _of all people. That didn't just go away with a trip to the mall.

"Why don't you get Catra to go with you?" Glimmer blurted out suddenly.

Scorpia choked a little on her milk and began to cough.

Adora stepped forward at this. "Glimmer. We're not asking her, we're asking you."

"Well maybe you shouldn't have," Glimmer said and pushed back from the table. She stood up and began to walk off.

Adora sighed and began to follow her. Bow hesitated briefly and then followed after Adora.

Glimmer matched out of the cafeteria and made her way down a hallway. She had no idea where she was going, but she had to get away from them. And she was not happy when she heard Adora call her name from behind her.

Glimmer stopped in the middle of the empty hallway and pivoted, facing down her pursuers. "Stop following me."

"No," Adora said sternly. "You can't keep avoiding us." She gestured to Bow who caught up behind her. "We're supposed to be the best friend squad. We can't let something like this break us up."

"Wow. Yeah easy for you to say." She narrowed her eyes and aimed a pointed finger at the two of them. "You lied to me. For like a whole month! Literally my best friends were hanging out with my worst enemy behind my back!"

"She isn't your worst enemy," Adora reasoned. "She said she hasn't been, like, actually mad for a long time."

Glimmer scoffed. "Well duh. That was all her fault too! I honestly don't know what you two could possibly see in her!? Especially you!" She pointed at Adora. "She's _manipulative_ and _spiteful_ and she'll turn on you in a second! And she…"

"Don't you _dare_ say another word about her," Adora interrupted Glimmer, and suddenly her entire presence had shifted. She spoke with a contained anger in her voice and her fists were clenched at her side. Glimmer saw a hard expression on her face and a dangerous flare in her eyes and immediately knew that she had crossed a line. She hadn't ever seen Adora mad. It was scary.

Glimmer found herself unable to continue as Adora gritted her teeth and spoke. "You don't know her. Not anymore. Even if she ever was any of those things, she isn't now."

Glimmer opened her mouth to disagree, but Adora cut her off.

"Glimmer when I first came here I was so _scared_. All of the time. And if it weren't for you and Bow and _Catra_, I still would be. She helped me feel important when it was really easy to not feel important. She was there for me when I needed her. She didn't care that I was a weird, awkward, foster kid who wore the same hole-filled hoodie to school everyday because it made me feel more comfortable."

Glimmer frowned and her anger wavered as she listened to Adora. Adora didn't look angry anymore either, but she carried on firmly.

"Catra has helped me so much. And she never cared that I was friends with you. In fact, she urged me to tell you about us as soon as we started meeting up."

Glimmer's brow creased in confusion. "She did?"

"Yeah. And you know why I didn't? I couldn't do it because I was too scared. Scared that I'd tell you and I'd lose _you_. That my best friend and the person who had dedicated so much time and energy to making me feel truly at home would leave me. And that scared me more than anything. And it still does." Adora stopped briefly to wipe tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry I lied, Glimmer. We both are. We just want another chance…" Adora choked up on this last word and stopped speaking.

Glimmer looked on and suddenly felt like she was in way over her head. Her mind was a raging whirlwind of anger, betrayal, sadness, love, and jealousy. She wanted to lash out at Adora as badly as she wanted to hug her. It was too much to handle.

Glimmer walked away, leaving her two friends behind.

They didn't follow her this time.

* * *

When Catra got to her table, she saw that only Kyle and Rogelio were sitting there.

"Hey where are Adora and Bow?" She asked before she even sat down.

Kyle looked over his shoulder at Scorpia's table and then scanned the rest of the cafeteria. "I...I don't know, actually. They went off to talk to Glimmer and I don't know where they are now."

"Oh boy," Catra said tiredly. "Hey I'm gonna go talk to Scorpia. You two guard my lunch. If I come back and my cookie is gone I'm throwing hands."

Catra made her way to where Scorpia now sat alone and pulled a chair up, straddling it backwards. "Hey. Pretty lonely over here."

Scorpia looked up from her lunch, surprised to see Catra. "Oh hey. Y'know, it's not that bad. Glimmer's here usually." She looked down the hall where the trio had disappeared and then turned back. "You know, talking to her reminds me of when we all used to be friends. That was fun, huh?"

"Yeah it wasn't too bad," Catra agreed.

"Are you over here to figure out where Adora went?" Scorpia asked.

"Kind of. And also to check in on you. Make sure Glimmer isn't brainwashing you or anything."

"Oh no." Scorpia shook her head, her white hair flopping around above her. "She's been good company."

Catra furrowed her brow. "Scorpia...just come and sit with us. What are you still doing over here?"

"I...Catra, I can't," Scorpia said uneasily.

"Sure you can!" Catra exclaimed.

"No, I really can't," Scorpia reaffirmed. "Being around you...is...harder right now. And that's not your fault, but it doesn't change the fact that I just...can't."

Catra looked down at her sullen friend, wishing that Scorpia had never fallen for her. "Well what about in Culinary after lunch? Are we still gonna be partners? It's banana bread today."

Scorpia started to say something and then pursed her lips together, exhaling slowly. "I don't know."

"Okay," Catra said, nodding slowly. "That's fantastic." She knew it was unfair of her to be mad at Scorpia for all of this, but she couldn't help it.

"Catra," Scorpia whined. "I'm sorry, but I just don't think I can."

"Yeah, that's fine," Catra said bluntly, rubbing at her nose. "Where'd those three run off to?"

Scorpia sighed. "They went down that hall."

Catra looked to where she was pointing and nodded. "Thanks."

She headed off down the hall and it didn't take her long to find Bow and Adora. They were sitting on a bench, huddled next to each other. When she neared them they looked up and she could see they had been crying. Her heart nearly broke when she saw Adora's face.

"Okay, scoot over," Catra said as she wedged her arms between them and split them up. They shuffled sideways and she jammed herself in between them.

Then she wrapped an arm around each of them and they scooted back closer to her. They didn't speak and they didn't really need to. Catra could tell what had happened.

She rested her cheek on the top of Adora's slumped head and squeezed her closer. They stayed like that until Adora and Bow felt good enough to go back to lunch.

* * *

"Adora...slow…down...please...dying…" Catra managed to croak out in between heavy breaths. She was trying to keep up with Adora's bicep curls and Adora was going way faster than usual.

"You don't have to match my pace," Adora said with steady breathing as she maintained her current speed.

"I...feel...weak...if I don't," Catra groaned as she struggled to lift the dumbbell in her hand.

Adora glanced over at her workout partner and saw that she was really having a tough time. She was drenched in sweat and her arms were shaking as she tried to raise them.

"Okay, lets slow down," Adora said as she lessened her speed significantly, allowing Catra to take a breather.

"Phew. Thanks," Catra said in relief. "You're really pushing it hard today."

"Yeah. Working out is good for me when I'm upset. I just work my body so hard that I can only focus on how sore and tired I am. It clears the mind."

Catra side-eyed her workout partner. "You sound insane. But, like, a good insane. Cute insane."

Adora smiled at this. She should've known Catra would be able to make her feel better. She was thankful they had this time together at the end of the day. "How'd your cooking class go?"

Catra huffed. "Not good. I had to make banana bread alone. Have you ever made banana bread alone?"

"I don't think I've ever cooked much of anything," Adora answered honestly.

"Well it's hard! Mine came out all lumpy!" Catra exclaimed. "And on that note, I have leftovers if you want some after class."

"Yeah I'll try some of your lumpy bread."

Catra snickered and glanced across the room at Scorpia. She was deadlifting and couldn't see Catra staring.

Adora noticed, however, and looked at her, concerned. "Catra. You wanna talk about it?"

"Huh? No. I mean, I don't know. I just don't understand her at all. One day I think I have her all figured out and then the next thing I know she drops a huge bomb on me and then tells me she can't be around me?" Catra found herself increasing the tempo of her curls as she vented and wondered if Adora had a point.

"Well, devil's advocate here. It's gotta be a tough situation she's going through. And I'm sure that me being around you a lot doesn't help at all."

"I get that," Catra groaned. "But I just think there's better ways of handling it. And I wish she had just not fallen for me in the first place."

"Well I can't blame her for that. Maybe you should stop looking so good," Adora said passively. She shot a look to Catra and smirked as she saw that her comment had the desired effect on Catra.

"Adora, how am I supposed to focus on my weightlifting when you say stuff like that?" Catra asked, a little frazzled.

"You don't," Adora said proudly.

"Hey, do you wanna come over after school?" Catra asked eagerly.

"I would love to," Adora answered and Catra immediately got excited. "But…Bow and I are doing a thing.

"What are you doing?" Catra asked, curious now.

"We're just running a little errand."

"Well that doesn't sound shifty at all. Could I tag along?"

"Um...maybe not this time. It's kind of a... surprise sort of thing."

"Oh," Catra said thoughtfully, her dumbbells now hanging at her side as she gave up on the lifting. "Well now I'm just extremely curious."

"I figured you would be. But it won't be a surprise for long."

"It's...for me?"

Adora shrugged, clearly over exaggerating. "Maaaybe."

"Oh I love that," Catra said excitedly, rubbing her hands together. "Well I hope it's not too long."

"It won't be. And I'm sure you'll love it."

"Can I guess what it is?"

"We're not doing that," Adora said with a smile.

"Oh alright," Catra said, feigning disappointment and kicking at a weight on the ground. "And you're gonna be alright? Like, with Glimmer and everything?"

Adora bit down on her lip as she heard the name and began to pump her weights even faster, her arms burning in protest. "I'll be fine."

"You...sure?" Catra asked, the doubt clearly audible in her voice.

"Yeah," Adora repeated. "I'm not sure that Glimmer will come around, but I'll be fine. I don't want it to keep hurting me."

"Yeah I don't either," Catra sympathized. She placed a hand on Adora's bicep, causing the girl to stop pumping. Adora brought her arms down with a ragged breath and turned to look at Catra.

Catra looked into Adora's eyes, trying to read her. "Look, I'm not sure what all happened today, but whatever happens I'll be here for you."

Adora's expression softened and she put her dumbbells down onto the ground. "I know. Thanks."

"Of course. Now give me a hug."

"But we're all sweaty," Adora whined.

"Oh, you baby," Catra said as she pulled Adora in and the two hugged.

Adora sighed, her arms wrapped around Catra. "Okay. Sweaty hugs are still good."

* * *

Glimmer was walking out of the school into the courtyard at the end of the day when she heard footsteps approaching her from behind.

"Hey! Glimmer!" A familiar voice called her name and Glimmer swiveled to see Scorpia catching up to her.

"Hey, Scorpia," Glimmer greeted her, a little curious as to why the girl was following her.

"Hey. I was just, y'know, making sure you're alright and all," Scorpia said caringly.

Glimmer was surprised that Scorpia even cared that much. "Uh. Yeah. I'm... alright, I guess."

"Okay, that's good news," Scorpia said with a nod. "Oh!" She seemed to suddenly remember something and reached back into her backpack and pulled out what looked like a bunch of wadded up napkins. She unfolded it gingerly and revealed what looked like a chocolate chip cookie. She held it out to Glimmer.

"Wh…?" Glimmer questioned as she was offered this strange gift.

"Oh. Yeah, well see, you didn't come back to lunch ever and I figured it'd be a shame to throw your cookie away so I saved it for you." Scorpia smiled at her innocently.

"Oh," Glimmer said, touched and more than a little surprised. "That's actually pretty cool of you." Glimmer took the cookie.

"It's probably a little melty cuz it's been a bit, but I took good care of it. Oh and I have banana bread too if you want. It came out really good!"

Glimmer looked at Scorpia thoughtfully, a strange look on her face.

Scorpia saw this and frowned a little. "If you don't want the bread that's fine. I was j…"

Scorpia was cut off as Glimmer quickly stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Scorpia's torso, burying her face in Scorpia's jacket.

"Oh..oh wow," Scorpia said in surprise. She tentatively patted Glimmer's back. "Are you, uh, sure you're okay?"

Glimmer pulled back from the hug and looked suddenly very tired. "No, I'm not," she said with a sigh. She looked up at Scorpia with a weakness in her eyes. "Are you doing anything right now?"

"I...no I was just gonna walk my dog...but...she can wait," Scorpia said.

Glimmer smiled ever so slightly. "Well how about I just walk your dog with you? If that's okay?"

Scorpia smiled. "Yeah that sounds good. Honestly...I could use the company right now."

"Yeah me too."

* * *

"Bow, I feel like I'm drowning in fabric," Adora complained as Bow stacked another dress onto the already substantial pile she was holding in her arms.

"That's what we _want_," Bow assured her. "Besides that one would look _so_ good on you."

"You think?" Adora asked as she eyeballed it. "It seems a little flashy."

"Hmmm," Bow pondered as he reexamined the dress. "Yeah maybe you're right." He took the dress off of the pile and hung it back up on the rack. "See you gotta tell me these things! Otherwise I'm gonna put you in everything!"

"I've been helping a little," Adora countered.

Bow smiled. "I think the one thing you contributed was when I asked whether you wanted a suit or a dress and you said 'a dress I think'."

"I'm just out of my element," Adora admitted. "I feel like a kid in a candy store who is chronically confused and also hates candy."

Bow examined Adora and nodded slowly. "Okay. Maybe I'm pushing you too far into the deep end." Bow took the pile of dresses from her arms and laid them down on a table beside them. "I'm used to dress shopping with my sisters which is...definitely a different experience. Here, let's walk and talk."

Adora followed Bow as he slowly led them through some aisles.

"Okay. So why do you want this dress?" Bow asked.

Adora shrugged. "I guess for the Formal."

"Is that it?" Bow asked. "You don't want anything else from it?"

"Well...I guess...I wanna look good. And I've never really _owned _a dress before."

"Okay, see, that's what I'm talking about!" Bow said encouragingly. "You want this for you! You wanna look good for your dance! That's a great reason!"

"Yeah I guess so," Adora agreed hesitantly.

"And I imagine you might wanna impress a certain someone?" Bow elbowed her lightly.

Adora smiled awkwardly and looked away. "I mean...yeah."

"Awww," Bow crooned contentedly. "So that's something to consider too! Just start looking for something that does that for you. That makes you feel confident and like yourself and that would help you woo your girl."

Adora nodded and began to pay closer attention to the dresses they were walking by. Viewing them in this new mindset did help a bit. Adora had always seen nice clothes as an extravagance, but now, thanks to Bow, she was trying to see them as something nice she could actually get for herself.

"You could color match!" Bow suggested. "What color is Catra's suit?"

Adora chuckled to herself. Catra had never actually pointed it out to her, but Adora had definitely noticed the well kept suit that had its own section in Catra's closet and was folded delicately. She must really like that suit.

"It's a deep red. Like a cranberry. It's her favorite color."

"That's adorable. And also we could definitely find something that matches that if you want."

Adora nodded and continued her looking around. She was glad Bow had offered to help her do this. Otherwise she wasn't sure what she would have worn to the dance. She had honestly planned on just wearing her school clothes.

Adora was trying to find any spots of red among all the dresses and spotted some a few rows over. She led Bow over towards it and took it off the rack to examine it.

It was much simpler than a lot of the things she had been looking at. The entire dress was in two shades of red, both resembling what Adora could recall about Catra's suit. It had a simple sash around the waist and there weren't any frills or lace or anything too showy. The arms were exposed and it looked like the back of the dress showed some of her back, but not too much that she would feel uncomfortable.

Bow watched her carefully as she fingered the fabric and turned it around. "Your eyes are definitely doing a thing. You're thinking some thoughts."

"Yeah," Adora said thoughtfully as she tried to picture herself in it. She didn't have much of a point of reference, but it looked nice just as a dress. "I like the color. And it's much more…" Adora struggled to find the word she was looking for.

"You?" Bow suggested.

"Yes. Much more me."

"Well I think it's gorgeous," Bow said, teeming with excitement. "Let's go try it on!"

Adora agreed and Bow grabbed a couple more sizes before they made their way to the fitting rooms. The mall wasn't too busy since it was a Tuesday, so they didn't have to wait and Bow waited patiently outside as Adora got into a room and began to try them on.

The first couple she tried on were a little too small and Adora was starting to worry that there wouldn't be one that would fit her, but on her third try she managed to find a keeper.

She actually gasped lightly when she looked at herself in the mirror. It was beautiful. And more than that, it made her feel more confident. She didn't often think she was pretty, but in this dress she couldn't help but acknowledge that she looked pretty good.

Her examination was interrupted by a single, quiet knock on the door followed by Bow's voice. "Are any of those good? I can go grab more for you if you want."

"Well," Adora shifted slightly and viewed herself in the mirror again. "I...I think I really like this one."

"Oh good!" Came Bow's voice from the other side of the door.

"But you should tell me if it looks dumb or not," Adora said as she unlatched the door and pushed it open slightly.

Bow peered in and his face morphed into a huge grin the second he saw her. "Girl. That's definitely your dress. It looks absolutely incredible on you."

Adora was embarrassed by the flattery, but it was what she needed to hear and she suddenly felt better about getting it for herself.

"Then I think I want it," Adora said assuredly.

"Yeessss!" Bow celebrated. "I'm so proud of you! And Catra's gonna go nuts."

Adora smiled at this and admired herself in the mirror some more before eventually changing back and getting the dress.

* * *

Adora got back home before it was too late and greeted Angella, who was reading a book on the sofa.

"It's good to see you, Adora. How was school?"

"It was how it usually is," Adora answered honestly, not wanting to talk about Glimmer.

Angella could tell that she was holding something back, but chose not to push her any further on it. "And how was your time with Bow? I see you have a bag?"

Adora smiled and pulled the large bag around in front of her. "Well I meant to tell you about this. So...next week there's this big, uh, dance or whatever."

"The Fall Formal?" Angella questioned.

"Yeah that," Adora answered. She walked over and sat on the couch, dragging the bag along beside her. "And I wasn't planning on going, but... y'know...Catra kinda asked me if I wanted to go and...so…I got a dress!" Adora hoisted up the bag.

"Unzip it, let me see," Angella said excitedly, sitting up and putting her book down. Adora unzipped the bag and showed Angella the dress. "Oh, Adora. You'll look so good in that. It's beautiful."

"Thanks. I hope so. I've never really done the whole dress thing before, but I'm excited."

"And you bought this with your own money?"

"Well it turns out that it was on sale," Adora answered proudly. "So I had just enough."

"Well that's good, sweetie, but I would prefer if you just came to me when you needed money. Maybe I should just set you up with a card or something…" Angella said, more to herself than to Adora.

"You really don't have to," Adora responded quickly. "I don't wanna feel like I'm...taking advantage or anything."

Angella tilted her head and put a hand on Adora's shoulder. "You could never take advantage of me. I'll look into just setting you up with a debit card or something. And I'll just put spending money into your account each month."

Adora frowned. "I...I guess. Maybe I should just get a job?"

"I don't know, Adora. I won't stop you, but I'd rather you focus on school and spending time with your friends and me and Glimmer."

"I'll think about it."

"Well whatever you decide, I'll end up supporting you either way. But anyway, I'm happy that you get to go to this dance. How are you and Catra doing?"

"We're doing good! We've become really close... friends and stuff."

Angella had been a parent long enough to know what that meant. She smiled lightly.

"Well that's good. If you ever need anything or wanna talk you can trust me with _anything_. Alright?"

Adora nodded. "I know."

"Good. Come here." Angella held out her arms and Adora scooted into the hug. Angella hugged Adora tightly. "I was gonna make hot dogs, but both of you were gone when I got back so if you're hungry I can cook those up."

"Glimmer was gone too?"

"Yeah she was with a friend," Angella answered.

Adora wondered who Glimmer would be hanging out with. Was there a friend of hers that Adora hadn't met? She shrugged it off for the time being.

Adora made some hot dogs and her and Angella talked a while longer about the dance and what they'd do to get her ready.

After a while, Adora excused herself and went upstairs to do some homework. She worked on school stuff and put a little more time into her and Lonnie's project. They had gotten a lot done, but Adora couldn't see them working together too well in the future.

She was just starting to feel good about her progress when she heard a quiet knock at her door.

"Come in!" Adora answered, certain it was Angella.

When the door slowly creaked open and Adora saw Glimmer standing in the doorframe, she nearly had to do a double check.

"Glimmer…" Adora said, not sure what to say.

Glimmer fidgeted in place a bit, shuffling a little in the doorway. She looked uncomfortable. "Hey."

It was one of the first things Glimmer had said to her in days that wasn't fueled by anger.

"Hey," Adora responded, staring questioningly at her foster sister, trying to figure out what was going on in her head.

"I, uh," Glimmer started nervously. "I just wanted to say...I...I don't...hate you." Glimmer frowned at her own words and tried to figure out what she wanted to tell Adora. "I'm still feeling hurt. And it's really hard to watch you two hanging out with Catra at lunch like you've already forgotten about me. And I'm mad _all_ the time. Either mad or sad or...or jealous. But what I'm saying is...I could...maybe _start_ to try to...forgive you. Both of you."

"Glimmer, I...we don't sit with Catra to get at you. It's just...without you we would be sitting alone at our old table and it'd be really lonely. But Glimmer we really do miss you! Bow was pretty optimistic at first but now he just cries all the time."

Glimmer looked genuinely upset at this and nodded. "Yeah that's Bow for you."

"And we'll keep saying we're sorry. Because we really are." Adora scooted to the side of her bed a little. "Do you wanna come talk about it."

Glimmer looked up at Adora and took a half a step forward before shaking her head and backing up. "Not tonight. I'm still...I just don't wanna say anything I'll regret. But soon. Me and you and Bow can talk. If you want."

"That is _all _I want. I miss you so much, Glimmer." Adora said softly. She desperately wished Glimmer would just come sit with her.

Glimmer nodded slowly. "Yeah. I miss you too," she said, her voice a whisper. "Goodnight. I'll, uh, see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight," Adora responded quietly as Glimmer gave her one last look and slipped back out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

Adora sat there on her bed for a while longer, processing everything. She felt a surge of relief as she finally realized that Glimmer was coming around. She grinned and punched at the air excitedly. And then she did what she always did now when she was excited and had nobody to share it with.

She called Catra.

_**A LOT of hugging and emotions in that one! But maybe things are looking up from here. We can see a little more of Lonnie and see what happens with these new friendships being made and changed. Very excited. And the dance. Don't even get me started on the dance. It's gonna be fun going forward! And hopefully less sad! Thanks for reading everyone and I really really hope you all stay safe and healthy and happy.**_


	29. Chapter 29

"Hey, nerd."

Catra heard this from directly behind her as she was drinking water from a fountain and she felt someone standing behind her. She turned around, wiping water from her mouth with the back of her hand and wondering who was calling her a nerd when she came face to face with Adora.

"Adora? Good morning," Catra said, pleasantly surprised.

"Morning. After school. Me and you. We're going somewhere." Adora said this as if there was no other option, an amused look on her face.

"Uh...yes. Definitely," Catra agreed eagerly, bobbing her head up and down.

"Good," Adora said with a contented smile and then, as suddenly as she had arrived, she swiveled and walked away.

Catra watched her go and shook her head in disbelief. "She's perfect," Catra muttered to herself.

* * *

"Marvelous work, Adora! It makes my heart sing!" Mr. Hawk exclaimed passionately as he praised Adora's finished painting of an ocean coastline. "And I do _so_ love the ocean! Keep up the good work!"

He admired the piece for a moment longer before walking off to admire more art. Adora knew that Mr. Hawk reacted like that to just about everyone's paintings, but she still felt good receiving the praise.

"It is real nice, Adora," Perfuma remarked from the seat next to Adora before taking a long drink from what looked like some kind of a smoothie.

"Thanks! What's that?" Adora asked, gesturing to the cup in Perfuma's hands.

Perfuma stared at it for a while. "Honestly? I have no idea."

"Oh."

"So anyway, how have things been going with you?" Perfuma asked politely.

"Oh, pretty all over the place. Glimmer and I have been going through a rough patch. Which normally would mean I'd be doing bad, but things with Catra have been really good. And we're going to the Fall Formal together."

Perfuma's eyes widened. "Like _together_ together?"

Adora looked away sheepishly and Perfuma laughed lightly. "Okay, so you're not official, but you're close?"

Adora hesitated briefly before nodding, too excited to worry about anybody knowing at this point.

"That's so nice. I never would have figured you and Catra. Your birth signs don't even pair well. But I'm happy for you," Perfuma said with genuine appreciation in her voice. "Have you ever been in a relationship before?"

Adora shook her head.

"Oh, I see. You're probably scared? I felt the same way before my first relationship."

"Who was that?" Adora asked curiously.

"A guy from out of town. I met him at a peace rally. We really synced up. But it wasn't meant to be." Perfuma had a far off look in her eye.

"Woah. I had no idea you had been in a relationship before."

"Oh yes. Several."

Adora couldn't keep a small look of surprise from her face. "Really?"

Perfuma smiled at the reaction. "Well you don't have to act _too_ surprised."

"Oh I'm not!" Adora recovered quickly. "I just...I mean you seem so... personally invested and I just never thought... you'd want someone else. I guess? I didn't mean to act surprised or anything."

"Oh, I don't mind at all, Adora," Perfuma said cheerfully. "And I am very personally invested! But my heart yearns like any other. We're all just looking for our soulmate at the end of the day."

"Yeah I guess. So do you think soulmates are... y'know...real?"

Perfuma looked at Adora with steady eyes. "Of course! I think we all have someone out there who is our perfect match. And I think fate puts them in our path. They might be someone you meet at school or a stranger you have a conversation with at a coffee shop. And I think so many people meet their soulmate and never know it, or let it pass them by. That's why I think people should just tell people when they're interested. And then see how things go. Until they find their soulmate."

"Woah. That's pretty deep," Adora said reverently. "I've always thought more...pessimistically. But I like that! It has a nice feeling to it."

"Doesn't it?" Perfuma said dreamily. "Do you think Catra's your soulmate?"

Adora exhaled quickly. "Woah. I don't know about that. I mean she feels really...special. And I like everything about her. But, like, how do you know if you've found them?"

Perfuma thought about it for a bit before responding with a shrug. "I don't know, I haven't found mine yet."

"Fair enough," Adora responded. "By the way, I like your painting. What are those rainbow balls?"

Perfuma laughed. "Oh, Adora. If you don't know what the chakras are yet then I'm not doing my job right."

By the end of class, Adora knew more about chakras and the Buddhist belief system than she had ever thought she'd know.

* * *

Adora stopped by her locker and put her art stuff up before texting Catra and letting her know that Bow and her were gonna sit with Glimmer today at lunch to hopefully work things out.

Then she put her phone in her pocket and walked down the hall to her next class. She wasn't paying much attention to her surroundings, but she did happen to glance in the direction of Frosta's locker and saw her talking to an older guy who looked like he was a senior.

Adora slowed her pace and watched for a little. It only took her a few moments to realize that the guy did _not_ look happy and that Frosta had an angry look on her face as well.

Adora frowned and looked around for a teacher or somebody who could help. She couldn't see anyone, however, and so she made up her mind and walked up to the pair.

"Hey, Frosta. What's going on?" Adora said casually as she stepped up to them, already trying to get in between Frosta and this older kid.

A wave of relief immediately washed over Frosta's face and she looked at Adora like she was a guardian angel. "Adora! Hey! I was just telling this chump here to leave me alone."

Adora raised her eyebrows and studied the guy who now stood in front of her. He was taller than Adora and he definitely looked like he was a senior. He met Adora's gaze and his lip curled in distaste.

"Are you the jerk my sister was telling me about?"

"Excuse me?" Adora asked, genuinely confused.

"Well this little rat," he said angrily, jamming a thumb in the direction of Frosta, "made my little sister, Holly, drop a whole letter grade last week by sabotaging her assignments. And then when she tried to teach her a lesson, apparently a 'big, blonde girl' threatened her and her friends."

"Oooh," Adora realized what was going on, remembering that she had defended Frosta last week. "Yeah that was me. Look, the situation was complicated. But I wasn't gonna let them hurt Frosta."

"Well they didn't! But now I hear that yesterday after school, Frosta went and drop kicked my sister in the courtyard!" The guy exclaimed, staring Adora down.

Adora's mouth hung open slightly as she turned to face Frosta. "Did you…?"

Frosta shrugged and smiled guiltily. "She was spreading rumors about me."

Adora massaged her forehead with the palm of her hand and sighed, turning back to the boy. "Well that is...concerning."

"Yeah you could say that," the boy said angrily. "So if you wouldn't mind I was gonna show the little runt a lesson."

"Trust me, you really don't wanna," Adora said in an attempt to reason. "I've done the whole fight thing. It seems fine at first, but then the next thing you know you have a face wound and you're forced to join theater."

The boy squinted in confusion and then shook his head. "Yeah, maybe you could scare a few sophomores the other day, but not me."

He put his arm up in a motion to shove her out of his way. Adora braced against it and managed to stay in place. He seemed to grow more upset and went to push her again.

Adora caught his arm and pushed it away from her. The boy strained, pushing as hard as he could against Adora, but she overpowered him and he stumbled backwards a couple steps. He looked surprised that he had been pushed aside so easily and regarded Adora with a new expression that was almost fearful.

Adora saw where this was going and put her arms up. "Look I really can't have another one of these on my record. How about...how about...a deal?"

"What kind of deal?"

"Well…" Adora bit her lip and looked back at Frosta, who was staring at her expectantly. "Your sister has got to leave Frosta alone for good. Nothing physical. No rumors. Nothing. And Frosta won't do her homework anymore."

"That's right!" Frosta exclaimed from behind Adora.

"And then in exchange…" Adora continued. "Maybe...maybe Frosta can tutor your sister?"

Adora heard a gasp from Frosta and the boy in front of her looked confused, but he had definitely dropped his offensiveness.

"Your sister was clearly having problems in class so she needed Frosta to do her work. Maybe...Frosta can help her out during lunch or something? Help her learn the material so she can do it on her own?"

"That's a terrible idea!" Frosta protested. Adora ignored her.

The boy thought about it for a while before nodding carefully. "Yeah maybe that could work. She won't be a fan of working with Frosta, but she does need to get her grades back up." He nodded to himself some more. "Okay. Yeah. You got yourself a deal."

"Oh God, no," Frosta whispered, just loud enough for Adora to hear.

Adora extended her arm and shook hands with the boy. She made sure to squeeze a little harder than usual and the boy winced slightly and pulled his hand back. "I'll tell Holly about it," he said quietly and then walked off.

The second he left, Adora whipped around to face Frosta, who was pouting. "Frosta! What!? You can't keep drop kicking people! Why would you even think to do that?"

"Hey, you weren't complaining when I drop kicked _your_ girl!" Frosta pointed out, throwing her arms up. "And now I gotta tutor stupid Holly? Where's the justice in that?

Adora exhaled slowly. "It was either you compromised, or you got hurt or something."

"Pshh. Did you see his face after you grabbed him? You coulda destroyed him!"

"Yeah but then I'd probably get kicked out of school and then he'd be mad at you and they'd make you miserable for the rest of your high school life. You can't drop kick your way out of every problem."

"Yeah that's what you think," Frosta mumbled to herself.

"What was that?" Adora demanded.

Frosta groaned. "Okaaaay. I'll tutor her for a while. But at the first sign of a struggle I'm going for the throat."

Adora looked at Frosta hopelessly. "Okay well I gotta get to class. Try to stay out of trouble this time. I feel like every time we talk now, I'm playing the role of meat shield."

Frosta chuckled at this, but then her expression turned more sincere. "Okay. I'll try. But only cuz you asked."

Adora snorted and turned to leave.

"Thanks, Adora," Frosta said to her and she turned back in time to see Frosta running up to her and giving her a hug. Adora smiled and patted Frosta on the head. As much trouble as she was, Frosta was a good person at heart and Adora was glad to call her a friend.

* * *

Catra walked into the dimly lit auditorium and looked up to the booth at the top of the room. The blinds were drawn and she couldn't tell if there was a light coming from within or not.

"Hello?" She called out into the auditorium. Her only response was the echo of her own voice.

She made her way up the stairs and came to the closed door to the booth. She knocked on it and held her mouth up to the crack in the side of the door. "Entrapta? Are you in there? It's Catra."

There was a brief moment where Catra thought she might just be talking to an empty room before she heard a shuffling from within, the clank of metal hitting metal, and the sound of approaching footsteps.

The door swung open and Entrapta was standing there. "Catra. You're...here for lunch again?"

"Yeah," Catra said casually. "Everyone I know is off being sad or talking about things and when I'm with Kyle and Rogelio I feel like a third wheel. Plus I kinda like your setup in here."

Entrapta looked like she was making calculations in her head again. "I didn't think you'd ever actually visit, but...this is an acceptable time. Would you like to come in?"

"Uh, yeah, if that's cool," Catra responded, holding up a bag. "I brought snacks."

Entrapta smiled and stepped back, letting Catra in. She entered and looked around. It was a small area and had little space that wasn't taken up by the huge light and sound board that was rigged up to the whole auditorium. What space was not taken up by the equipment was absolutely blanketed in a whole mess of tools and little metal parts and pieces that Catra had thought only existed in movies. It was all dimly lit by a desk lamp that rested on the floor and lit up a small circular area that was cleared out and looked to be where Entrapta sat amidst all the mess.

"Woah," Catra said breathily. "This is somehow exactly what I expected and not at all what I expected at the same time."

"It's basically my home away from home. Literally nobody comes up here but me. So I can just do my work up here. Here let me clear you a spot!"

Entrapta bent down and shoved a whole pile of little parts out of the way, clearing out a small circle next to her spot on the floor.

Catra looked on in amusement and took a seat when Entrapta was done, finding that she fit perfectly in the circle. Entrapta sat down next to her.

"So...what exactly is all this?" Catra asked, picking up a little green piece that looked like a circuit board.

"Well it changes all the time," Entrapta answered. "But I usually work on making little robots. I'm the president of the Robotics club after all."

"That...makes sense. Doesn't the robotics club meet after school too?"

"It does. I go to the meetings when I can and then do theater when I'm needed here. It keeps me from getting bored."

"Oh. Cool," Catra said, placing the piece back down gently into a pile of miscellaneous tech. "Entrapta are you like...one of those secret geniuses?"

Entrapta chuckled to herself in her normal nasal tone. "I don't think so. I know a lot about math and science and technology. But there's a lot of things I don't know."

"Like what?"

"Well…what's something you know a lot about?"

"Uh...not much. Mostly just useless things. Like guitar and organized crime and I watched a whole documentary about birds one time."

"See? I don't know a thing about any of that," Entrapta said as she picked up what looked like a large base of something she was working on and then managed to grab a screwdriver from the rubble without even looking.

"Well, sure, but knowing about birds and stuff doesn't get you good grades and fancy scholarships."

Entrapta tightened a screw on the thing she was holding. "School does a terrible job of educating students," she said, not even looking up from her work. "You can't condense intelligence into a few strict categories and then punish those who don't excel in all of them."

"Woah," Catra said insightfully. "That was deep. Now I know you're definitely a secret genius."

Entrapta smiled and looked around her surroundings briefly before locking eyes with a spot by Catra's foot. "Can you pass me that distance sensor?"

"Uhhhh," Catra stared into the many objects, completely lost.

"It's that little black bit with the two mini cameras in it."

"Ah. You really should have led with that," Catra said as she snatched up the right piece and handed it to Entrapta. "You want any snacks? I raided the cafeteria. I got muffins, some soda, lil' packaged sandwiches, and chips."

"I just ate. But thanks," Entrapta said. She returned to her work and Catra nodded.

Catra took out her stuff and began to eat her lunch. They didn't talk much and Catra didn't really mind. She liked the peaceful environment and it was kinda fun watching Entrapta tinker away.

"Social ability," Entrapta said suddenly, out of the blue.

"Come again?"

"I am not a genius when it comes to social interactions...especially compared to others." Entrapta continued to work on her machine as she spoke.

"Oh. Well nobody really is."

"You're pretty good at it."

"I...well thanks, but I'm no genius. And, I dunno, I wasn't always...I mean I used to be real quiet as a kid, believe it or not."

Entrapta glanced up at Catra momentarily. "You were?"

"Oh yeah! I was real weird too. Rougher than a lot of the other kids and I had a strange sense of humor. Didn't mesh with others too well."

"What changed?" Entrapta asked casually.

Catra pondered the question as she tapped on a piece of metal lightly with a screw. "I didn't really change who I was. I just kinda...found people who liked that I was different, y'know? People who were like me."

Entrapta didn't respond for a while. She brushed some of the hair out of her face and pushed up her glasses. "I don't know if there's anyone like me. Not that I've encountered, at least."

Catra examined the girl. She didn't show any signs of being upset and was still just working on her robot.

"Well, look, I might be a decent talker but a lot of people still hate me. Mostly because of stuff I did forever ago and it was mostly my fault, but still. I get what you're saying. And I think we're maybe more similar than you think."

Entrapta lowered the device in her hands and stared at the ground. Her fingers twitched slightly and it looked like she was thinking intensely about something. Eventually she nodded to herself and brought the machine back up, continuing to work on it.

Catra watched for a while and then went back to her lunch.

"Thank you for coming up here," Entrapta said, minutes later.

"Yeah. Any time. I can do it more if you want."

"Maybe every once in a while," Entrapta said slowly.

Catra smiled. "Sure thing."

* * *

Bow and Adora waited patiently for Glimmer at the normal spot. Bow was bouncing his leg up and down in his seat, rattling the whole tabletop slightly.

Adora reached over and put a firm hand on his knee, keeping him from juggling it anymore.

Bow shot her a thankful look. "I'm nervous."

"You don't say?" Adora said with a small smile before nodding in agreement. "But yeah I'm a little nervous too. It's just Glimmer, though. It'll be fine."

"I know. But what if she just gets mad all over again? Or we make it worse?"

"We probably won't," Adora said somewhat confidently.

This didn't seem to persuade Bow much and he started to bounce his leg again. Adora looked over to Catra's table and saw that it was empty. Adora wondered where Catra was, but couldn't find her anywhere else. She did, however, see that Kyle and Rogelio had moved over to where Scorpia was sitting and were talking with her.

Adora watched them for a while before her attention was drawn to the familiar form of Glimmer as she exited the kitchen and walked out into the lunch room. She looked over at their table and froze for a bit before heading over.

Bow and Adora watched as she approached slowly, standing in front of them at the table. "Uh," Glimmer's eyes flitted over to where Scorpia sat. "Hey guys."

"Hey," Adora and Bow both greeted her at the same time.

Glimmer pulled out a chair and took a seat, regarding her tablemates warily. "So...I want some questions answered first."

Bow and Adora nodded and Glimmer looked at each of them briefly. "First off. Adora. How did this even happen?"

"How did what happen?"

"Catra, of course. How in the world did she go from bully to...to...well whatever she is now?" Glimmer looked noticeably uncomfortable.

Adora had figured Glimmer would want to know this and so she proceeded to relay a brief overview of what had happened. Most of the details Glimmer already knew, but there was a lot that Adora had not told her about, or even lied about. Glimmer shook her head slowly and stared at the table throughout the recollection, but didn't say anything. Adora left out a lot of unnecessary embellishment, mostly her attraction to Catra and the more intimate moments they had shared, but managed to fill in the gaps enough for Glimmer to understand what had happened.

When Adora finished, Glimmer stayed quiet for a while. It looked like she was busy processing everything. "Alright," she said after a while. Then she shook her head and sighed. "Okay. So are you two…? Actually. I don't wanna know." Glimmer massaged her temples. "And what about you, Bow? You I understand even less."

Bow cleared his throat and filled Glimmer in on how Catra had come to him wanting to get advice about Adora and how to get to know her better. He also left out some of the more personal things and confessions of love.

By the end of this, Glimmer looked like she was nursing a full on migraine. "Okay so she came to both of you. Because of you." Glimmer pointed at Adora.

"I mean, I guess. That's kinda what it sounds like," Adora answered.

"Yeah it is," Glimmer said, rubbing at her eyes. "When were you guys gonna tell me? If ever?"

"I was going to...at some point," Bow told her. "I didn't want everything to blow up and Catra said that you'd know soon and I was just kind of waiting for that I guess."

"And that's where I come in, I think," Adora added. "I was supposed to let you know about me and Catra. And I _was_ going to…"

"When?" Glimmer pushed.

"Soon. I had planned for the day after Halloween but...I didn't actually get around to it. And then you kinda...well you remember."

"Yeah it's hard to forget."

"I'm sorry Glimmer. I should have told you sooner.

"_We _should have told you," Bow added.

"Why didn't you then? Do you not trust me?" Glimmer gripped the side of the table.

"No that's not it," Adora disagreed quickly. "It's like I told you before. I was scared I'd tell you and you'd get mad and we wouldn't be friends anymore. So I held it off. And I ended up just making things worse."

Glimmer nodded. "You really did. You both did." She shot a look at Bow and he slumped his head. "But...I don't know. I talked about it with Scorpia the other night and maybe...maybe I would've reacted like this even if you had just told me from the beginning. I mean...Catra and I...and my friends…" Glimmer began to twiddle her thumbs nervously. "Look I'm just saying that I feel like maybe...my whole thing with Catra might have clouded my reaction a little bit. Even though you guys did still lie to me."

Glimmer let the weight of it all lie there for a while and nobody said anything. Eventually she sighed.

"I believe that you're both sorry. And I don't entirely forgive you yet, but I can get there. I...I don't wanna lose you guys either."

"You won't," Bow said as he put a hand on Glimmer's.

"It'll take more than this," Adora agreed.

"Yeah I think so too," Glimmer decided. "But I still wanna have some time where I sit with just Scorpia. It turns out she's going through some stuff too and strangely enough I think we're really helping each other out."

"She seems like a good person," Adora said with a nod.

"Yeah she is. I probably wouldn't have even talked to you guys today if she hadn't opened me up to the idea. But anyway...y'know…things might be weird for a bit and I don't know how I'm _ever _going to be around you guys when Catra is there…"

Adora frowned as she thought of the scenario and Glimmer noticed.

"..._but_ I'm gonna try. You...well...you deserve it, Adora. I'll at least try for you."

Adora let out a sigh of relief and rested her hand on Glimmer's other hand. "Thank you."

"Sure thing. But...like...oh my god if we ever get to where we're all hanging out and Catra and you start making out or something that'll be beyond trippy. I mean my estranged ex and my foster sister?"

Adora reddened a little. "Oh no...I mean I won't...there won't be any making out."

Bow raised an eyebrow and grinned. "You sure about that?"

Adora reddened even more and tried to hide her face with her hands.

"Eeew," Glimmer said, giggling a little. "You know. It's good to talk to you guys again."

"You can say that again."

* * *

Catra slid across the bench over to where Adora sat and bumped shoulders with the girl, who had been waiting outside the auditorium for her to get there.

"Hey. I didn't see you after your classes. How'd your lunch go?"

"It went well!" Adora said earnestly. "Glimmer is starting to come around. She's not, like, all the way just yet, but I think we're slowly starting to get back to normal."

"Well that's good to hear," Catra said, brushing a hair out of Adora's face.

Adora smiled up at her. "Catra, I'm so glad that we're...that you're here for me."

Catra looked surprised but pleased at the sudden statement. "Well I'm glad I'm here for you too. And I'm glad you're here for me. I'm really gonna need it! Cuz if Glimmer and I are gonna be around each other more often it's gonna be a real challenge."

"I know," Adora said nervously. "Will you try to get along with her?"

"If it'll make it easier on you, then _definitely_. I'm just not sure she'll have as easy a time."

"Probably not. But we'll figure that out later."

"Sure. Hey...where are we going after school?"

"That is a secret," Adora said proudly. "You'll find out after practice."

"But I wanna know _nooow_," Catra whined, tugging on Adora's arm.

Adora just chuckled and shook her head. "It'll just give you something to look forward to. And I hope you're feeling active cuz we're walking there."

"Well for one, I'm never 'feeling active'. And also, how far is it?"

"Oh it's not that far," Adora said dismissively.

"As in _your_ definition of not that far or the normal definition?"

"The normal one," Adora said with a grin. Then she zipped open her backpack and showed Catra the contents. "I also brought you a big poofy coat, some gloves, a hat, ear-warmers, and a scarf just in case you get too cold."

Catra looked at Adora in surprise and then nodded solemnly. "You know me so well."

"I know," Adora said cheekily, bumping into Catra with her shoulder.

"I'm so excited f…" Catra stopped mid-sentence as the auditorium door opened and Double Trouble poked their head out, their eyes coming to rest on Catra and Adora.

"Ahem," they said. "I really do hate to break you two up, but we have some big goals to accomplish today."

Catra sighed and reluctantly got up from the bench, putting a hand on one hip. "We'll be right in, boss."

Double Trouble winked at the pair of them and slipped back inside.

Catra stretched her arms. "Well let's hope we don't have to fall off of more places today."

"Aw, you know I'd catch you," Adora said, standing up beside Catra.

"Of course you would," Catra said, shooting a thoughtful smile at Adora.

* * *

"Mmfhhhmmm!"

Adora looked over at Catra and saw that she was trying to speak through her scarf. The only part of her skin that wasn't bundled up in something fluffy was her eyes.

"Oh my God," Adora said with a chuckle as she reached over and tugged Catra's scarf down to under her chin.

"Ahhh!" Catra yelped, her voice cracking a little as she did. "My warmth! You're letting my warmth escape!"

"Catra it's literally not even that cold out."

"Yeah well of course you'd say that," Catra said gruffly. "You're like ninety-nine percent muscle."

"What's the other one percent?"

"Hmmm. Probably, like, cuteness."

"_Catra_," Adora said, flattered. "You can't just out of nowhere say stuff like that."

Catra shrugged. "I'm trying to be more honest." She shot a devilish grin at Adora, who smiled bashfully and then focused back on where they were going.

"Anyway," Catra continued. "What I was trying to ask you was if we were there yet."

"Shoot, yeah. You got it, Catra. We're here. I wanted to bring you to the sidewalk outside of a dentistry office," Adora answered sarcastically.

"Well I was just curious," Catra said with a satisfied chuckle. "Are we close then?"

"We are super close."

"Oh! Like within eyesight?" Catra began eagerly scanning the various buildings and shops around them, trying to figure out where Adora could possibly want to take her.

"_Maybe_," Adora said slyly, cutting across a patch of grass over towards the parking lot of a small strip mall.

"Oh man. Are we going to Randy's Home and Farm Supplies?" Catra asked, tripping on a curb a little as she said this.

Adora saw her trip and braced her as she stumbled forward, holding her arm. "Not Randy's. I know you needed some farm supplies but it'll have to wait."

"Well darn," Catra joked, staring at Adora. She continued to lead them through the parking lot and past a few shops. Catra guessed where they were going about a dozen more times, all of them incorrect.

And then finally Adora stopped outside a little store with tinted windows and a neon sign hanging above the door. Catra read the sign aloud.

"The Fish Factory…"

Catra's eyes widened a little bit and she turned to look at Adora, mouth slightly agape. "You did not."

Adora smiled. "Well after you told me about Bonnie and Clyde passing away I just thought you could use some more little fish buddies for your b…"

Adora hadn't even finished what she was saying when Catra threw her arms around Adora and cut her off. Adora laughed and hugged Catra back as she squeezed her tightly.

"You're my literal favorite person," Catra said as she held Adora.

"Oh, it's really not much."

"It really is," Catra said softly, giving Adora one last squeeze before stepping back. "You're so warm! Let's go get some fishes!"

Catra stormed into the shop and Adora followed, laughing joyfully.

Catra, in her haste, just about collided with an old woman in front of the door. She was barely able to catch herself and the old woman looked over at the girls, smiling as she regarded them. "Welcome to the Fish Factory. Feel free to look around you two."

"Oh we will," Catra said excitedly, grabbing Adora's hand and pulling her over to the first tank.

The store was dark and bathed in an aquamarine glow from all the tanks that lined the walls. Fish of all shapes and sizes swam around in the glass tanks and hid behind kelp and toy skulls.

"Ooooh," Catra cooed in fascination as she took in the array of colorful fish. "I...I want them all."

"I don't think we can fit all of them in your tank!"

"I'll just get a bigger tank," Catra responded playfully as she admired the fish. "Help me find one that speaks to me."

"Speaks to you?" Adora questioned.

"Yeah. Like one that seems...right for me. I want a spiritual connection."

"A spiritual connection…" Adora pondered aloud as they walked amongst the fish. She found herself actually looking at the fish and trying to establish a connection.

"Hey that one's got your eyes," Adora remarked, drawing Catra's gaze to a goofy looking fish that was wobbling along with bulbous eyes that were bigger than its whole head.

"Ouch," Catra huffed. "It is kinda cute though. In, like, a really ugly kinda way. Sorta like you."

"Oh man," Adora chuckled. "I had that coming."

Catra smirked and continued to watch the ugly fish with the big eyes. "Is it looking at me?"

Adora examined the fish again. It definitely did seem to be swimming towards where Catra was looking into the tank. "Well one eye goes one way and the other goes the opposite so I can't really tell. But it's coming right for you."

"Come here little buddy," Catra cooed to the fish. "I don't care that you look like a weird alien. I actually like that about you."

The fish continued to swim up towards where Catra was standing.

Asora looked on. "This could be it. The spiritual connection."

"Oh this is it. Are you trying to swim to your new fish daddy? Come on now lil' guy."

The fish continued to awkwardly swim towards Catra, her face now almost pressed up against the glass. The fish got right up to the glass, right where Catra's nose was, and lightly bopped its face onto the glass.

Adora had never heard Catra squeal, but she assumed that the noise that Catra made just then was as close as she would ever get.

"This is the one. This fish. One hundred percent. I'm gonna keep my eye on her so I don't mix her up with another one. Can you go grab the owner person and tell 'em we want this one?"

Adora was proud that she had made a good move with going to get fish. Catra seemed to really be enjoying herself. Adora got the old woman who seemed to run the shop and led her over.

Then Catra explained that she needed the exact fish that she was looking at and not just one that looked like it in the tank. Luckily the owner was patient and seemed to enjoy that somebody shared her love of fish. So after several failed scooping attempts and a whole lot of cheering on from Catra, they were eventually able to get the fish that had 'connected' with Catra.

Catra thanked the woman and watched her new fish swim around in its little transfer box. "Perfect. She feels like...I think her name should be Boba. Like the tea. Cuz she's all round like one of those little boba balls."

"That's adorable," Adora answered honestly.

"Now I just gotta get one more. So they can have company." She said this as if it made complete sense and Adora smiled and nodded along.

"Yeah we can't have them getting lonely," Adora agreed.

The owner kept Catra's fish at the register as the girls went back to searching.

"Now you spotted the last one," Catra told Adora. "So keep doing what you're doing."

"Gotcha."

They looked through a few more tanks. Nothing seemed to catch either of their attention until they moved to a smaller tank with more colorful fish. They both saw it at the same time and pointed it out to each other.

It was a pure black fish with a bright red tail and it flitted about elegantly in its tank.

"That's, like, your two favorite colors."

"You're right," Catra said reverently as she watched it swim. "I like it. Its so different from the other one. Beautiful in their own ways. Definitely one of these. Let me figure out which one is for me."

"Okay," Adora responded, grinning as she watched Catra examine the fish. She noticed that Catra looked really happy. She had hardly stopped smiling since they had entered and her eyes darted from fish to fish in child-like wonder, the soft, blue light dancing across her face and lighting up her pupils.

Adora realized then that she thought Catra was insanely beautiful. She had felt it before, of course. When she would see her in her leather jackets and with that cocky smile. But it had never registered quite as directly as it did now. It had never been so plain in Adora's mind just how deep her attraction to Catra was.

Adora wondered if she should tell Catra this. She wanted her to know. But she wasn't sure if that was too much, too soon. Adora didn't know what they were. They hadn't put a label on it yet, but it was so fun and new and exciting.

Adora eventually decided to wait. There would be time to tell her later. And eventually, Adora hoped she would be able to tell Catra how beautiful she was every single day.

Adora thought back to what Perfuma had told her about soulmates that morning in art. Maybe it was too quick to rush into things, but when Adora was with Catra, the idea of having a soulmate suddenly didn't seem too crazy after all.

_**Catra is a fish geek confirmed. And oh my god I love her. This chapter was like incredibly fun to write cuz I got to hit some of my favorite characters. Like Entrapta and Catra? That's fun stuff right there. And rest assured you will figure out the name for Catra's second fish in the next chapter. That can be the cliffhanger for this chapter! Plus Adora and Catra are becoming more and more involved and it's only a matter of time before they call this what it is. Thanks for reading and your comments have been so extremely fun to read. It's like I get to experience the story again through you guys! So thanks. Hope you all have a really good week and stay happy and healthy!**_


	30. Chapter 30

"So how are things going with your friend?" Madame Razz asked before taking a long sip from out of her mug.

"Oh much better!" Adora answered. "We're talking again. I mean, I can tell she still has some reservations, but we're making progress."

"I'm glad to hear it," Razz answered, her face wrinkling profusely as she smiled warmly.

"One thing I did mean to talk to you about though. I kinda got assigned to work with...Lonnie for a school project. And she's...I don't know…"

"Has she said or done anything to you?" Razz asked, suddenly very serious. "I can ask Principal Hope to have the teacher assign you a new partner."

"No, no," Adora responded quickly. "Nothing like that. It's weird, but she hasn't said anything like she used to. She hasn't exactly been _friendly_, but she isn't being mean either."

"Interesting. And how do you feel about working with her?"

"Well at first I was...scared. I thought we'd get in another fight or it'd be like it used to. But so far it's going okay. I just don't know...I mean, how are you supposed to just talk to someone who did that stuff to you? Like, 'Oh hey, I know you punched me in the face, like, a month ago, but can you help me fill out this slide?'"

"I understand," Madame Razz said thoughtfully. "I told you the first time we met that it was good practice to _understand _why people do the things they do. But it should be made clear that it is never your job to try to fix the mistakes that someone else made. If you don't want to talk to her you don't have to. And we really can have your partner switched, dearie. I'm surprised your teacher even let this pairing happen."

"Well we're mostly done with the project now anyway. Just a presentation. And it's really not that much of a problem. It's just a weird experience, is all. For both of us."

"Yes it must be," Razz said sympathetically. "If you have any trouble with her then _please_ let me or Principal Hope know."

"Yeah I will," Adora said distantly, thinking about how her class would go.

* * *

"I don't like your slides," Lonnie said bluntly as soon as Adora sat down across from her.

"Why?"

"Well you put too much information," Lonnie explained, turning her laptop around and pointing out a slide Adora had been working on.

"Isn't more information...better?" Adora asked.

"Well yeah but you're supposed to, like, have short bullet points on the slides and then expand on the topic with your own words. Not just read a page."

"Well...sure," Adora said, a little defensively. "I just don't like having to remember all that when I'm presenting."

"Well it's either that or we recite a whole paragraph in here about Egypt's economy."

"Well I guess I can change it," Adora settled. This was not off to a great start.

Adora went in and reworked some of the slides she had done to shorten them down as Lonnie worked on the other slides. She had not even finished rewriting them when Lonnie spoke up again.

"I still think we should change up your slides a little bit."

Adora took a slow breath inwards and looked up at Lonnie. "How so?" She asked through gritted teeth, trying to hide her annoyance.

"Well since we didn't do the whole thing together our slides seem real disjointed. So maybe you should read my slides and try to match yours up with mine."

"Or...you could always match _your_ slides up with mine?"

Lonnie and Adora locked eyes and there were a few moments of silent struggle before Lonnie looked away.

"Yeah sure. Whatever," Lonnie said resignedly and went back to work on the corrections.

Adora went back to her work as well and tried to calm herself down. Lonnie was being a lot more talkative today, but apparently with that came a whole lot of judgement. Adora did have to admit, however, that their slides had been a little confusing before they had changed them.

The girls worked quietly for a while, only talking to each other briefly when they had to. But then, when there were only a few minutes left in class, Lonnie surprised Adora once again.

"So how's Catra doing?" Lonnie asked nonchalantly.

Adora looked up from her computer surprised and stared at Lonnie. The girl wasn't even looking up from her screen. She had asked the question as casually as if nothing had ever happened between the three of them.

"Um...she's good. She's...yeah she's good," Adora answered awkwardly.

Lonnie nodded in approval. "I saw Scorpia doesn't sit with the rest of 'em anymore. Why is that?"

"Oh that's...I mean...I don't wanna spread, like, gossip or anything."

Lonnie looked up and stared at Adora, an expectant look in her eye.

"Well…" Adora shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know all of it. But her and Catra had a little...disagreement."

Lonnie grunted. "Figures. What about?"

"Uh...I don't know if I'm...comfortable telling you that. It's kinda Catra's personal business."

Lonnie chuckled briefly. "Yeah. Forgot I was out of the loop now. Well I'd ask you to tell 'em I said 'hi' but I doubt they'd wanna hear from me anyway."

Adora didn't respond because she wasn't exactly sure how to.

* * *

"Adora! Update! Fish Update! Breaking news!" Catra exclaimed loudly as she burst into their English class that was starting to fill up with students.

Mrs. Weaver shot a glare at Catra. "I'd prefer you keep your 'fish update' a personal matter and not shout in my class, Catra. Unless you'd rather discuss it in another detention?"

Catra shot a nasty look right back at Mrs. Weaver and made her way to her seat next to Adora.

"_Catra_, you're gonna get in trouble," Adora said, failing to stifle her amusement at Catra's outburst.

"Well so be it," Catra said dramatically. "Mrs. Weaver can't stifle my freedom of speech! I have rights!"

Adora shook her head, smiling widely. "So what's the fish update?"

"I'm glad you asked," Catra said with a grin. "Did you get the picture I sent you last night?"

Adora chuckled as she remembered the blurry picture of Catra's new fish swimming around in the tank. "Yeah they looked very happy."

"They are," Catra announced proudly. "I fed them those high end fish flakes you got me and they seemed very thankful. So thank you."

"Well I'm glad they liked it!"

"They did. You're a good fish mom to my fish children."

"We're a happy little family," Adora said, angling herself in her desk so that she could face Catra more easily.

"Yes we are," Catra said with a big grin. "And anyway what I wanted to tell you is that I finally came up with a name for Boba's fish brother."

"Oh? Last night you said you were thinking of naming him either Zap or Lil' Flippy?"

"Ah yes, those were good," Catra admitted. "But it didn't fit well enough. Now I'm thinking: 'Beefers'.

Adora blinked a few times, maintaining eye contact with Catra, who looked dead serious.

"Beefers?" Adora finally asked with a slow sigh.

"Yup," Catra said, liking the sound of it. "It really fits who he is."

Adora's look of disbelief slowly morphed into an appreciative grin. "You know you are the dumbest human being?"

"I am aware of this," Catra answered facetiously. "And you love it."

"I really do," Adora replied honestly. "And I think you're a wonderful fish dad."

"That's the nicest thing anybody has ever said to me. I do take my duties as fish dad very se…"

Catra was interrupted suddenly by a loud clicking sound and the sudden darkening of the classroom as all of the lights went out at once.

Catra and Adora looked around, confused. There was a collective gasp from the students in the room as they wondered what had happened. Mrs. Weaver stood up. "Class it seems our power has gone out. Stay in your seats. Class should resume shortly."

The students began to murmur excitedly amongst themselves as Mrs. Weaver moved to her desk phone and began to dial the office.

"Oh man!" Catra exclaimed excitedly as she turned back to Adora, now only dimly lit by the natural light from outside a single window in the room. "This is cool! Maybe it's like the beginning of a nuclear apocalypse or something!"

"Yeah or the power just went out," Adora suggested.

Catra shrugged. "Well just wait till it gets all Hunger Games in here. You better start sharpening that pencil. I say we hole up in the cafeteria."

Adora couldn't help but laugh at the thought. "We'd have all the food. That's a good plan actually."

"Yeah I think about this a lot. We could trade our supply of food with the other roving bands of students for weapons and supplies. Fortify our base. Hold out until winter."

Adora rolled her eyes and was about to respond when a voice came through the overhead speakers.

"Students and Faculty…" The voice of Principal Hope poured into the classroom, quieting the room. "We have just been informed by a construction team nearby that our power has been accidentally severed. There is no time estimate on repair as of yet, so we have decided to end school early for the day. The buses will be called in for those of you who need them and any after school extracurriculars are cancelled as well. Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you."

Mrs. Weaver addressed the class. "Alright. It seems you are all dismissed for the day. But I still expect your homework next class before the bell rings. No exceptions."

The students barely heard her as they were all so excited to get a surprise day off. Catra practically leapt out of her seat as the students began to leave the classroom.

"Well this is great!" Catra exclaimed. "We have all day now!"

"Thank goodness for construction errors," Adora said, also pretty excited about the impromptu vacation.

"You wanna come back to my place?" Catra asked, shouldering her backpack.

"Yeah that sounds fun," Adora answered. "I'll have to check with Angella first though."

Adora pulled out her phone to call her foster mom and saw that she had two missed calls from Bow. Both had only been mere seconds ago.

Adora called him back as her and Catra walked out of the classroom and into the bustling hallway. The phone had only rung once before Bow picked up.

"Hey!" Came the excited voice from the other end.

"Hey," Adora said, smiling into the phone. "What did you call about?"

"Well we have a day off! I was thinking we should hang out! Like all of us!"

"All of us meaning…?" Adora asked tentatively, looking at Catra who stared back at her questioningly, wondering what the conversation was about.

"Well...you and me and...I was thinking...we gotta get Catra and Glimmer to hang out together at some point. Like, better now than never right?"

"I don't know…" Adora answered hesitantly. "We're a little...tenuous right now with Glimmer. Don't you think this could make it worse?"

"That is a solid possibility."

"She probably won't even agree to go."

"Well I'll just ask her. Hey Glimmer!" Bow called out on the other end of the phone and Adora heard a voice in the background.

"Is that Bow?" Catra asked.

Adora put a hand over the phone speaker and nodded. "Yeah he's wondering if you wanna hang out after school. Maybe with Glimmer and him. Do we wanna?"

"Do you wanna?"

"I want to if you're there."

"Well I'll be there if you're there so sure. What are we doing?"

"Good question. Just a sec." Adora put her ear up to the phone again and listened to muffled conversation for a bit before Bow spoke again.

"Glimmer has...cautiously accepted the invitation. But only on three conditions."

"Uh...okay what are the conditions?"

"Well for one she wants to do laser tag."

Adora cupped her hand over the phone again and turned to Catra. "Is laser tag alright?"

"When is laser tag not alright?"

Adora went back to the phone. "That's a resounding yes for laser tag."

"Awesome. Condition two is that she's bringing Scorpia. And condition three is...that if at any point you and Catra do anything romantic in front of her she reserves the right to barf. Her words."

Adora sighed. "Catra is it okay if Scorpia comes?"

"What? With Glimmer?" Catra looked initially confused and startled, but shook it off quickly. "Yeah sure. I was gonna invite her anyway probably. Not that she would've said yes if I'd have asked." Catra mumbled this last part to herself and Adora put a hand on Catra's shoulder as she responded to Bow.

"Yeah that'll do. I hope Glimmer is ready for a lot of barfing."

Catra looked at her, utterly confused how this last part had made its way into the conversation.

Bow laughed on the other end. "Okay sounds good to me. We'll see how this goes! Meet you in the courtyard in a few minutes."

"See you there." Adora hung up and turned to Catra, who looked a little distracted.

Adora moved the hand that was on Catra's shoulder over to her other shoulder, so that her arm was now resting around Catra. This made the girl look up at Adora.

"Hey," Adora said firmly but with a comforting tenderness. "It's gonna be fine. We have each other, remember?"

Catra smiled genuinely. "Thanks."

"Of course. And honestly it'll be a little awkward for a while, but it won't be that bad."

* * *

It was that bad.

Everyone now stood in the courtyard grouped around a table together. Adora stood with Catra and Glimmer and Scorpia were sitting at the table across from them. Bow was wedged awkwardly in between them all. And nobody had said a word since they had all met up.

Bow finally cleared his throat. "Soooo...how are all my favorite people doing? You all look great today."

Nobody said anything and Glimmer frowned to herself, already regretting agreeing to do this.

"Oh thanks," Scorpia answered Bow's compliment. "I'm Scorpia, nice to meet you." She clumsily extended a hand and Bow shook it enthusiastically.

"I'm Bow. It's nice to finally meet you too! My dad said you saved his life one time at the gym."

Scorpia squinted her eyes momentarily before recognition came to her face. "Oh! That was your dad!? Yeah that guy tried lifting without a spotter! And he went way too heavy! If I hadn't grabbed that bar it woulda fallen right on his ribs and cracked him all to bits."

Bow's eyes widened at the description.

Scorpia saw the horror on his face and scrambled to relieve him. "Oh! Oh I mean he probably would have been fine! Y'know...he woulda been…totally alright...I bet…" Scorpia trailed off.

There was another awkward pause before Glimmer spoke up.

"Well. We better head over. Who's riding with me and who's riding with Bow?" She looked at Bow and Adora as she said this and made the concentrated effort not to make eye contact with Catra or even acknowledge her presence.

"I'm going with Bow," Catra muttered, stepping closer to Adora.

"I'll...uh...oh…I have a car so I can ride on my own," Scorpia said, shooting a few guilty glances at Catra out of the corner of her eye.

Then everyone turned to look at Adora. Adora decided then that this was the worst decision she had ever made.

"Uh…" She looked over at Glimmer, who was staring at her curiously. And then she looked at Catra who was right up beside her. "I...um…" Adora froze and looked at her feet.

"You should ride with Glimmer," Catra said, putting a hand on her back. "I'll see you there, 'kay?"

"Okay," Adora answered, relieved that somebody had made the decision for her.

She wondered if Catra was in any way upset about this, but when Adora looked at her she just saw a supportive look on her face.

Glimmer watched the exchange, trying to hide her surprise at Catra's actions. "Alright. We'll meet you guys there."

"See you there," Bow said. Catra gave Adora one more assuring look and then headed off with Bow.

"Drive safe!" Bow shouted back to them as Adora, Scorpia, and Glimmer walked off the opposite direction.

"He seems nice," Scorpia mentioned as they walked away.

"He has his moments," Glimmer replied. "I can't believe you saved his dad!"

"I can't either! I mean the story seemed to scare him a bit but that dad guy really did almost get all crunched up!"

"You're like a buff guardian angel," Glimmer joked. "Let's hope those skills transfer over to laser tag. You wanna be on my team?"

"Definitely," Scorpia agreed with a smile. "I'll see you there, Glim. Uh...you too, Adora." She waved awkwardly at Adora and then went off towards her own car.

"Yeah see you there," Adora said as she walked away. Then she turned to Glimmer. "Scorpia calls you 'Glim' now? I thought only Bow could do that?"

Glimmer shrugged. "Scorpia likes nicknames."

"Yeah I guess so. So you guys are, like... friends now and everything?"

"Oh yeah," Glimmer said as she got into her car and Adora hopped into the passenger seat. "She was there when I needed her and it turns out she's really cool. Plus we already know each other from back in the day."

"Yeah…" Adora said, buckling herself in. "Uh. Sorry about that again."

Glimmer turned the car on. "Sorry about what?"

"Just that I wasn't there for you when you needed someone."

Glimmer sighed. "Adora you already apologized for all that like twenty times."

"I know. But it still feels like you're...mad at me."

"Well…" Glimmer gripped at the steering wheel and then relaxed her hands. "Yeah I mean I told you I'm still a little burnt by the whole thing. And, like, it's incredibly weird that I'm going to do laser tag with Catra. And it's a crazy thing to get used to."

"That makes sense."

"Yeah. But... y'know... I'm not, like, _mad _mad. And I really really do wanna get things back to normal. And laser tag with you guys sounds fun. And...mom and I talked and...I don't know. Maybe I should try to 'see things from your point of view' or whatever."

"Well thanks for trying."

"Yeah."

Glimmer pulled out of the parking lot and began to head out towards the laser tag place. It was quiet. After a few awkward moments that felt like they stretched on forever, Glimmer tried to strike up a conversation.

"So how is school going?"

"Not too bad. I aced that test in our chemistry class."

"I figured you would. I did...less well."

"Oh shoot. Yeah we didn't get to study together like we usually do."

"Yeah. It didn't tank my grade or anything but it wasn't great."

"Well hey we'll just study extra hard for the next one then. And we can work together on that homework tonight if you want."

Glimmer looked over at Adora briefly before focusing back on the road. "Yeah that sounds good."

"So what about you? What's been happening with you?"

"Not much you don't know. I spent almost a week being furious. I've been hanging out with Scorpia."

"Yeah how's that been going?"

"Good. She's really nice and cool. We went to the gym the other day and then we talked a lot."

"Oh wow," Adora replied, secretly a little bummed that Scorpia had been the one to have a gym day with Glimmer and not her.

"Yeah it was good. Helped clear my head. We're feeling a lot of the same stuff right now. And Catra's kinda burnt her lately too."

"Well," Adora said slowly. "I wouldn't say that Catra specifically 'burned' either of you."

"Oh right," Glimmer recalled. "Forgot I can't say that stuff around you."

Adora frowned and opened her mouth to argue before giving up on it and slumping back into her seat. She looked out the window and didn't respond.

Glimmer and Adora ignored each other for the rest of the drive over.

* * *

"Welcome to the Laser Castle everyone! You're the only group here so it looks like you'll get the whole place to yourselves today! Split up into teams and then head into the dark room over here when you're ready!" Exclaimed the overenthusiastic young adult who was working the front desk.

The group of students looked at each other for a moment.

"What do we wanna do for teams?" Bow asked.

"I call Scorpia," Glimmer proclaimed immediately, receiving a smile from Scorpia and a grimace from Catra.

"Aw man, one of the teams will be uneven," Bow remarked. "We should balance out skill level. Who's really good at laser tag?"

Catra half raised her hand. "I'm not too bad with a laser gun."

"Yeah if it's anything like her shooting skills in Halo, she'll be great," Adora joked. Catra smiled at her appreciatively.

"You wanna be on my team?" Catra asked Adora.

"Sounds good," Adora responded.

"Alright well I'm terrible at laser tag so I'll join Glimmer and Scorpia just to balance things out," Bow decided.

"I don't know, Bow, they might need the extra firepower," Glimmer said, a small hint of hostility in her voice. "We're fine being the smaller team."

Scorpia looked back at Glimmer. "We are?"

"Oh yeah," Glimmer responded. "Us against them."

Bow regarded Glimmer warily for a moment before stepping back towards Catra and Adora. "Alright. I'll be over here then. Let's, uh, head in."

Adora and Catra shared a look before following the rest of the group into the dark room in the back. Inside, the walls were lined with racks of laser vests and the room was covered with neon paint and black lights. A big TV screen played a safety video as the person from the front desk explained the rules to them.

Catra elbowed Adora gently as the person was going over instructions and whispered in Adora's ear.

"How are you doing with Glimmer? Things seem...tense."

Adora nodded and whispered back. "Yeah it's not going great. But at least she's trying, I guess."

Catra huffed. "Yeah sure she is."

The instructor finished reading off the rules and told everyone to grab a laser vest and get ready.

Catra, Bow, and Adora went over to the red team and Glimmer and Scorpia went over to the blue team.

Scorpia shot a glance back at Catra as she walked away from her. "Hey, Glim. Do you think Catra's mad at me?"

Glimmer began looking through the laser vests for one she liked. "Not really. But you shouldn't be worrying about Catra. She's not worrying about you."

"Well...I don't know…" Scorpia said glumly as she shrugged one of the vests on.

"Look, Scorpia, just try not to worry about her. She's probably just mad at me."

"I guess…" Scorpia said distractedly.

"Now...which vest name should I go with? Crusher or Sprinkles?"

Scorpia pondered this difficult question.

Across the room, Catra, Bow, and Adora were choosing their own vests.

"I'm going for PeaceMaker," Catra said, taking her vest down from the rack. "That sounds dope."

Adora chuckled. "Which one should I get?"

"Well there's one over here that says Beast and that's giving me heavy Adora vibes," Bow said.

"Oh yeah hand that over," Adora said instantly, grabbing the vest from Bow and clipping it on.

Bow proudly put on a vest that had Ravioli printed across the nametag and shot a thumbs up across the room. "We're ready!"

"Yeah we're ready too!" Scorpia agreed, still fumbling with the strap on her vest. Glimmer helped her out and the employee led them into the arena.

It was a big, dark room with more flashing neon lights spread all over. There were big ramps that led up to a second floor and there were structures that looked kind of like a castle. Walls and barricades were all over the area for cover.

The employee then gave them a thirty second warning and told them to go and find their places.

Catra immediately bolted up a nearby ramp and waved to Adora and Bow to follow her.

Glimmer looked around the area and found a ramp on the other side. She grabbed Scorpia and the pair ran over to the opposite end of the arena and up the ramp, taking shelter behind a wall.

"It's so loud in here!" Scorpia shouted over the near deafening sci-fi music that was playing throughout the arena.

"Yeah it is!" Glimmer shouted back. She craned her head around the wall and looked over to where Catra and the rest of them had gone. "Okay I'm thinking we split up at that branch up there and we go in from two ends and mess 'em up!"

"Sounds good!" Scorpia yelled. "I'll go left and you go right!"

"Wait no I wanna go right!"

"Okay then you go right and I'll go left!" Scorpia yelled back, pointing at the different routes ahead of them.

"Well you pointed at a different place! You mean those two bridges over there?!"

"Oh I meant the bridges over there!"

"That's only one bridge!"

"Oh shoot, you're right!"

"Okay so you go left and...wait…I'll go…right?" Glimmer was cut off by a recorded voice over the speakers saying that the match had started as their vests flared to life.

"Let's go! No prisoners!" Glimmer shouted as she took off forward.

Scorpia followed her quickly, trying to keep up with the girl. They ended up both going across the same bridge.

Meanwhile, Catra was showing Adora how to shoot the gun.

"You gotta hold the bottom or it won't fire!" She yelled over the battle music that had begun to play.

"Oh yeah!" Adora exclaimed, gripping the bottom and accidentally firing off a few shots."

"You almost shot Bow in the head!" Catra laughed loudly.

"I need my head!" Bow yelled as he tried to aim his gun out at the rest of the arena. "I feel like mine is broken!"

"Bow you gotta hold the bottom!" Catra yelled over to him and he adjusted his grip.

"Oh yeah! Thanks! Oh I saw a flash of blue over there!"

The three of them stood up and peeked out from behind their cover.

"Don't fire 'till you see the whites of their eyes!" Catra exclaimed.

"But it's so dark!" Bow yelled back helplessly.

With that, Catra dashed over to an adjacent barrier a few feet ahead and aimed her gun out at the area.

Bow and Adora looked over at one another and shrugged before following Catra.

They clumped up behind her in her cover and she turned around and looked at both of them before shaking her head and smiling helplessly.

"We can't all group together! We should split up at least a little bit!"

"What!?" Adora questioned, having not heard Catra's advice over the blaring music.

Bow, however, did hear and stood up to look for another place to hide. He was only up for a few moments before a beam of light shone from across the battlements and struck him in the chest.

Bow gasped and looked down at his vest as an explosion sounded and his light went out temporarily.

"How dare you!?" He yelled out towards where a blue light was peeking out from behind a pillar. Bow ran a few steps to the side and his vest lit up again. He began to rapid fire madly out towards the light.

He missed almost all of his shots and the blue light ducked away again. Then Bow's vest instantly darkened again as he got shot by another beam from a different spot a few feet from the other one.

This time, however, Catra was ready. As Bow yelped and retreated back to cover, she whipped her gun over to where the shot had come from and fired two shots, satisfied when she saw a blue light flash and blink out.

"Nice shot!" Adora yelled. "I'm gonna go help Bow! He's struggling!"

"I'll cover you!" Catra yelled and shot again over towards where the first shot had come from, watching another blue light flicker off.

Across the battlefield, Glimmer and Scorpia had initially been celebrating their success, but soon found that almost every time they peered out from cover they were getting blasted by the same person.

They played like this for a while longer before Glimmer realized they needed to change things up.

"It must be Catra!" Glimmer shouted over to Scorpia. "We gotta take her out!"

"She's too good!" Scorpia yelled as her vest got blasted once again.

Glimmer grumbled to herself and peered around the barrier, noticing a doorway in the middle of the floor between both teams with a roof over it.

"Scorpia, they said that if you shoot the little light in the center room you get a bunch of points! I think it's in there!"

"Oh I see it! But how are we gonna get there!?"

"Follow me and aim for Catra!"

Glimmer pushed off from the wall and began to move to the next cover, Scorpia following close behind.

They focused their fire on where Catra was and Glimmer laughed aloud when she saw the red light fade.

Then they both got shot as a few beams came from another spot. The pair heard Bow cheering Adora on. Glimmer gritted her teeth and they pushed onwards.

Across the battlefield, Catra took cover and then yelled over to Bow and Adora. "I think they're going for the base in the middle! We gotta get there first! I'm going in!"

Bow and Adora shot her a thumbs up and started shooting off to provide cover fire. Catra took the opportunity to hop over the short wall in front of her and crouch run over to the next barricade and then the next, working her way towards the center.

"What a tryhard!" Bow yelled over to Adora as he watched Catra dash around.

Adora laughed loudly as she continued to shoot towards the other team.

They watched as Catra slowly made her way to the middle. They hit Glimmer and Scorpia a few times, but couldn't keep them from also nearing the center from their end.

Catra saw the blue lights on the other side of the room in the middle and fired off a few shots, knocking both of them out. She grinned and then rushed forward into the room. She looked above her and instantly saw the flashing circle of light on the ceiling above her. She pointed her gun up to fire at the circle when suddenly a laser hit her shoulder pad and her vest powered down.

She whipped her head down and saw Glimmer standing just several feet away and approaching the room.

Catra ducked down and waited for her light to come back on. Glimmer reached the room from the other side the second that Catra's light came back on and the two fired at each other, each taking out one another at a close range.

They both looked down at their vests and then at each other and then up at the light. Then they leveled their guns at one another and spammed the triggers.

The second their lights came on they both fired off a shot and once again eliminated each other.

"Stop shooting me!" Catra yelled at Glimmer.

"No you stop shooting me!" She shouted back.

They eliminated each other again and both became increasingly more angry.

Scorpia came up behind Glimmer, laughing as she dodged a few shots, and then stopped as she saw Glimmer and Catra firing at each other endlessly. She lowered her gun.

"Uh...guys!? I think the point is that we kinda let the lights come back on first!?" Scorpia yelled, concerned about her friends.

Bow and Adora stormed in the other end, giggling like idiots and firing off potshots when they also realized Glimmer and Catra, now staring each other down angrily.

They stopped and watched for a moment before the music stopped and a voice came over the speakers signifying that the match was over.

Glimmer and Catra finally stopped firing at one another, realizing that neither of them had actually gone for the circle above them.

Catra stepped back and looked at Adora, her face instantly slipping into embarrassment. Glimmer just frowned, turned around, and walked off in the other direction.

Scorpia hesitated briefly and then followed Glimmer. Bow and Adora walked with Catra down the other end of the arena and back to the dark room where they all took off their vests and went outside to see the leaderboard.

Catra had come in first place followed by Glimmer and then Adora and then Scorpia and finally Bow.

Glimmer and Scorpia's team had lost by a few hundred points and Glimmer frowned a little as she saw this.

Catra whooped and patted her teammates on the back.

"How was my accuracy one percent?" Bow asked with a chuckle. "Is that even possible statistically?"

"With how you were shooting, definitely," Adora joked.

"That was _so _fun guys!" Scorpia said loudly, her ears still adjusting from how loud it had been in there. "Catra was that you over by that one pillar who kept getting us?"

"Yeah that was me," Catra said, trying not to sound as proud as she was.

"Man you're better with a laser gun than I remember!" Scorpia said with a grin.

"Well, the roller rink I worked at gave me coupons for this place so I used to just come here on weekends and shoot kids all day," Catra recalled fondly.

"Oh my god," Adora responded, smiling. "Do we wanna do another round? Or…" Adora hadn't addressed the question to anybody in particular, but everyone knew that she was really asking Catra and Glimmer in particular.

"Sure," Catra said with a shrug. "I mean...yeah sounds fun."

Glimmer nodded. "Yeah let's do it. I want a rematch."

"Well I'll join your team this time then now that we know Catra is a laser god," Bow said.

"No, we should do the same teams," Glimmer reiterated firmly. "I just needed a warm up."

"Okay sure," Bow said a little nervously as he stepped back towards Adora and Catra.

Adora shot a concerned look at Glimmer and Glimmer noticed the stare.

"What? I'm fine, Adora," Glimmer insisted.

Adora looked away and everyone stared at Glimmer. She grew frustrated with all the attention and threw her arms up defensively.

"I have to go to the bathroom," she said decidedly before she quickly walked off in a direction.

"The bathroom is over here!" The employee at the front desk shouted helpfully to Glimmer as she walked in the opposite direction.

She turned back around and passed the group again, heading towards the bathroom. "Apparently the bathroom is over here," she mumbled as she walked past them and disappeared into the restroom.

They all watched her go and then Catra cleared her throat. "I gotta go to the bathroom too, guys. I'll be back soon."

Adora grabbed Catra's arm as she started to walk off. "Are you…? What are you gonna do?"

Catra smiled gently at Adora. "Trust me."

Adora still looked a little worried, but she nodded and let go of her arm.

The remaining three watched as Catra walked over and entered the bathroom, the door closing behind her. There was a moment of silence.

"So how likely is it that neither of them come out of that bathroom alive?" Bow asked.

* * *

Catra walked in slowly and saw Glimmer washing her face in the sink. Glimmer didn't notice her until the door closed and then she whipped her head over.

Upon seeing Catra her expression instantly soured and she went and grabbed some paper towels to dry her face off, trying to ignore Catra.

"Hey…" Catra said as she approached Glimmer. "How...uh...how about that game?"

Glimmer turned and looked at Catra as if she had lost her mind.

Catra rolled her eyes. "Okay, I know it's weird you don't have to make it even more awkward," Catra complained.

"What are you doing in here? Why are you talking to me?" Glimmer asked confrontationally.

Catra sighed and ran a hand through her messy hair. "Look I...I get that you hate me. I really do. Cuz trust me, sometimes when I look at you I just wanna…y'know..." Catra made a little choking motion with her hands.

"Well at least we're in agreement," Glimmer said firmly and then moved to walk past Catra.

Catra moved in front of her and blocked her path, at which Glimmer looked very annoyed.

"Look I don't wanna start anything," Catra said, raising her arms. "I just...we can't keep doing...this. I mean I was content with us just avoiding each other at all costs for years, but now there's Adora and...us fighting...it's gonna tear her apart."

Glimmer stopped and looked genuinely confused.

Catra continued. "You don't have to like me. And I don't have to like you. But...for Adora...and also for Scorpia and Bow...I think we should, like, at least try to get along."

Glimmer shut her eyes and took a moment to process this. She turned away from Catra and walked a few steps away before turning and pacing back to face the girl. "Look, I literally can't believe I'm saying this, but I think you're...right."

"I'm sure that's hard to say."

"Oh trust me, it is," Glimmer said, rubbing her brow. "But you're right. I mean this'll only work with all of us if either one of us leaves, or we manage to get along. I've just been so _mad_ lately. And then someone says something about _you_ and I get even more angry. It sucks!" Glimmer gripped the edge of the sink and Catra frowned.

"Yeah I know. I felt the same way for a long time. And, like, I still do. I've just been trying to contain it for Adora."

"Man…" Glimmer said, shaking her head. "You really like her don't you?"

"I like everything about her," Catra answered honestly. Glimmer groaned a little at this and looked away. "But I know you care about her too. So I think we should just try for her. For them."

Glimmer looked up and stared Catra in the eyes for a few seconds. She hadn't looked into Catra's eyes for years and it was strange to do so now.

"I do care about her a lot," Glimmer replied. "And Bow, of course. And also Scorpia now."

"Oh yeah," Catra said quickly. "Are you just friends with her to get under my skin or what?"

"No of course not!" Glimmer exclaimed before lowering her voice again. "We just genuinely helped each other out. I like her. And I didn't know I missed her."

Catra scanned Glimmer's face and saw that she was telling the truth. "Ah. Well. That makes me feel better then. And for what it's worth, I'm sorry the whole...thing with us broke up our friend group so much."

Glimmer's eyes widened a little bit, surprised by the apology, and then she looked at the floor. "Yeah I mean...yeah. It's fine."

"So…" Catra bit at her nails a bit. "Yeah that's all." She shuffled a bit awkwardly.

"Hey, did you really try and get Adora to tell me about you two from the beginning?" Glimmer asked suddenly.

"Well...yeah I guess. I didn't push her too hard but I figured it'd be better all around if you knew sooner and we got it over with."

"Yeah. How'd you know that?"

"Well... it's been a few years, but it's not like I don't know you at all," Catra explained.

Glimmer nodded slowly. "Well. I won't thank you. But. I'm not _not _thankful for that."

Catra grunted. "Yeah okay I figure that's as good as I'll get."

"And I agree with the whole _trying _to be civil thing. Talking to you right now is so extremely confusing but I think we can at least be in the same room together. At the very least we should try."

"Okay good. Cool. Then you think we can both manage do another round and not shoot each other endlessly?"

"Well the real reason that I wanted to go do laser tag was so that I could shoot all of you and not feel bad about it," Glimmer sighed. "But...we can sure try," Glimmer said, cracking a small smile.

* * *

Outside the bathroom, Adora, Bow, and Scorpia were sitting at a table waiting for their friends. Scorpia kept looking over towards the bathroom every few seconds.

"Hey, I'm sure they're fine," Adora said, trying to assure the girl. To be honest, for all Adora knew they were beating each other up in there, but she was trying to hold out hope and trust Catra.

Scorpia looked back at her. "Yeah I hope so. They just haven't interacted this much in years."

"Yeah maybe we're pushing them too quickly?" Bow mused. "I just wanted everyone to have fun and love each other but I'm not sure it was such a good idea in hindsight."

"Hey don't say that," Adora said. "It was a great idea! Laser tag on a day off? I mean, I really want us all to be able to hang out like this normally and this is as good a time to start as any."

"That's true," Scorpia agreed before frowning. "I mean...I don't mean to, like, insert myself into your business or anything. Sorry."

"Girl, don't apologize. You're part of the squad now," Bow said encouragingly.

Scorpia smiled to herself. "You sure? I only just met you guys. Well you at least, Bow. Adora and I...well...we've met."

"That doesn't mean you can't be part of the group! We're not some exclusive squad, dude. And we're pretty unconditional once you're in!" Bow explained.

"Yeah, Scorpia," Adora added. "Literally anytime you want to hang out all together just let one of us know. You're cool. And apparently you saved Bow's dad's life."

"Yeah I guess I did," Scorpia half nodded to herself.

"And to be honest," Adora looked to the bathroom briefly. "Catra won't say it, but she...she really misses hanging out with you."

Scorpia frowned. "She does? I mean I'm the one who needed to take a break, but it's good to hear that she's...not mad or anything."

"She's not. She talks about you a lot."

Scorpia perked up at this. "Good things? Or like...embarrassing things? Oh gosh, she has so much dirt on me. Did she show you the picture with me and the pony?"

"The...the pony?" Adora asked, confused.

Scorpia put her hand to her mouth. "Oh. Forget I said anything. Uh. Subject change. Uh. So. Wow. It's really hot in here, they should turn up the AC!"

Adora smiled at the obvious subversion of the conversation.

"Oh wow, here we go," Bow said in a hush and the two girls looked over to see Glimmer exit the bathroom. She immediately noticed the three of them staring at her intently.

"It's nice to see you guys too," Glimmer said with a nervous laugh as she walked up to them. "Hey. Sorry if I said anything mean. To any of you. It's been a rough...week. But I'm making the solemn pledge right now to wave goodbye to Grumpy Glimmer!"

"We forgive you. You have good reason to be upset," Bow said quickly. "And also now that Grumpy Glimmer is gone...will you let me be on your team?"

"Yeah sure, what the heck," Glimmer agreed. "You'll probably make us have negative points though." Glimmer made sure to smile after she said this so they knew she wasn't being serious.

Bow chuckled. "You're probably right."

"I'm glad you're feeling better," Scorpia said, standing up and scooping Glimmer into a big hug.

"Oh man, I knew I liked her," Bow said under his breath.

Glimmer accepted the hug. "I am. I was just sitting in there and I was thinking to myself that maybe I need to try a little harder to make this work."

Glimmer and Adora locked eyes for a moment and they shared a knowing look. Glimmer nodded slightly to Adora, and she smiled back.

"You ready to get your butt kicked again?" Adora asked her foster sister.

"Ha! I think we all know who's butt will be kicked," Glimmer fired back.

"Are we trash-talking without me?" Catra asked as she walked up to the group.

"Yeah we were just saying how blue team is gonna destroy red team in this next round," Scorpia said with a big grin on her face.

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that," Catra replied cockily.

"I wanna switch my Ravioli vest over to blue!" Bow shouted as he took off towards the dark room.

"There's a Ravioli? I really missed out," Scorpia said disappointedly as she followed after Bow.

Glimmer walked with Scorpia over to the room and Catra and Adora fell behind them.

"Hey, what did you say to her?" Adora asked Catra incredulously.

Catra shot her a sly look. "I don't know. What happens in the laser tag bathroom stays in the laser tag bathroom."

"I hate you," Adora said, pulling Catra a little closer to her as they walked. "Thank you."

Adora squeezed Catra's hand as they walked into the dark room and Catra squeezed it back.

_**Laser tag chapter has been something I've wanted to do since probably starting this fic. And now I've finally done it! And you just know Catra would own at laser tag. You just know it. Also I've been thinking up some plans on where I want the story to go and we're coming up on a big point in the story and I'll update you probably next chapter and let you know what I'm thinking. What a fun story to write. And hopefully it's fun to read! I love the comments and the support! Also I put a fish name in there that one of you suggested in the comments because I liked it :)**_

_**But in the end I couldn't resist Beefers. I just couldn't. But thanks for reading! And I hope you all stay very very safe and happy. See you next week!**_


	31. Chapter 31

"And then I told Glimmer that we should, like, try to be chill around each other! Me! Isn't that crazy?" Catra smiled proudly and leaned back in her recliner, arms behind her head.

Madame Razz, who sat across from her, nodded and smiled as Catra continued recounting the events of the day before.

"I mean if you had told me a couple months ago, like before Adora moved here and stuff, that I'd be making peace with Glimmer, I would've thought you were crazy! But here we are."

"Here we are," Razz repeated slowly. "You know, Catra…" Catra looked up at the old woman expectantly and she smiled fondly back at the girl. "I am truly proud of you and some of the progress you've made."

"Oh," Catra responded, a little thrown off by the compliment. "I...thank you."

"Well you deserve some praise, my dear. You seem like a very different person than you were when I first met you."

"Y'know normally when older people tell me I'm doing a good job I think they're lying to me, but...I kinda do feel better." Catra put her feet up under her and sat up in the chair. "Like...I don't know, good things are happening and I'm more in control and stuff is really looking up I think."

"I'm glad. And you deserve it, Catra."

Catra smiled bashfully and picked at her arm a little bit.

"And I thought that you should know that Principal Hope and I have talked and we think that it's about time we stop making you attend these counseling sessions every morning."

Catra cocked her head. "Wow, really? I thought you guys would make me, like, take a solemn vow never to hit anyone again or something."

Razz chuckled and then coughed a few times before addressing Catra again. "After meeting with all three of you girls for this long I have been able to get to know you and I truly believe that none of you will have another incident. You're good girls."

"I don't know about _that_," Catra said with a sly grin. "But yeah we probably won't fight again. Unless, y'know, someone starts it."

"Don't you make me regret my decision," Razz said jokingly, wagging a wrinkled finger at Catra.

"I won't," Catra answered. And she meant it. She hadn't started off liking Madame Razz, but over time she had grown to admire the counselor. She never judged Catra's decisions but she always provided an alternate way of looking at things. Catra had told her more than she had told most people and had secretly begun to look forward to their meetings. "I'll miss talking to you though."

Madame Razz smiled warmly. "I'll miss talking to you too, dear. But just because you aren't required to come talk to me doesn't mean you can't. If you _ever_ need help or someone to talk to I'll be here for you."

"Thanks, Razz," Catra said graciously. "I might have to take you up on that sometime."

Madame Razz set her tea down on the coffee table and smiled at Catra, her face creasing under her big spectacles. "I very much hope you do."

* * *

Bow walked out of the kitchen and instantly noticed Glimmer lingering right on the edge of the lunch room, eyes fixed on a particular table.

"Whatcha lookin' at?" Bow asked as he walked up behind her.

She jumped a little and then turned and saw that it was him. "Oh. I just don't know...uh...where to…"

"I get you," Bow said immediately. He looked over at the table where Catra usually sat and saw that Adora and Catra were already sitting there together, laughing about something. "Do you feel up to sitting with her yet? Zero judgement from me if you aren't. I totally understand."

Glimmer shot him an appreciative look. "I don't really want to exactly, but I do wanna sit with Adora and you. And I don't know where Scorpia will end up sitting but I wanna be with her too. Ugh."

Bow put a hand on her shoulder. "Well whatever you choose I'll go with you."

"Oh, Bow. You can't just give up where _you_ wanna sit all because of me."

"But I can though," Bow said defiantly. "Now where are we eating?"

Glimmer smiled and looked out at the cafeteria. "Lets just sit where me and Scorpia usually sit. I don't want her to be alone and I know she has a hard time being around Catra and Adora right now."

"Lead on," Bow said, waving her forward.

Glimmer and Bow walked over to their intended table and sat down. A few moments later, Scorpia came and sat down as well. "You guys mind if I sit with you?"

"Of course not," Glimmer said, scooting a little closer to the girl. "How was your English test?"

"Oh man, I don't know. I think I did good! And Lindsey Harper cheated off me the whole time."

"Did you tell the teacher?" Glimmer asked, concerned.

"Nah. I figured if she felt like she had to cheat then she must be pretty worried about the test. So I just kinda moved my paper over so she could read it better."

"Woah," Bow remarked.

"You are literally _too_ nice," Glimmer said with a grin.

"I like when people are happy," Scorpia said simply, shrugging.

"Yeah Glimmer's right. Your niceness is next level," Bow said admirably.

Scorpia smiled. "Thanks. It's nice sitting with you guys."

"Yeah, well Glimmer really wanted to sit with you," Bow said, nudging Glimmer.

"I mean, yeah," Glimmer said dismissively. "No big deal or anything."

Scorpia smiled. "Thanks, Glim."

Bow perked up a little at the use of the nickname. That was the nickname he had been using for Glimmer for years and it felt weird hearing it out of someone else's mouth but he decided not to say anything about it.

"So...that dance is next week," Bow said, trying to start up a new conversation.

"I know," Glimmer said worriedly. Then she clenched a fist and dropped it onto the table. "I want a date."

Bow widened his eyes. "Is _the _Glimmer gonna try her hand at love again?"

Glimmer stabbed her fork into her food. "I don't even want a relationship! I've given up on real love anyway. I just want to dance with someone for a night and really feel it."

"I don't know, Glim," Bow said cautiously. "You said the same thing last year and then after the dance you and that one guy dated for like a whole month."

"Oh wow, who was he?" Scorpia asked.

"You wouldn't know him," Glimmer said quickly.

"_Hector_ _Diaz_," Bow mouthed over to Scorpia.

"Bow! I saw that!" Glimmer exclaimed, reddening immediately.

"You dated Hector?" Scorpia asked. "He's very…uh…"

"Hunky?" Bow suggested. "I would also accept popular, supreme jock, and last but not least: huge jerk."

"He was a huge jerk," Glimmer agreed. "And we were literally nothing alike. I'm still not sure why I did that."

Bow chuckled. "I do. You said, 'Bow that body is a treasure'."

Glimmer reddened again and started slapping at Bow's arm. "Boooow!"

Bow laughed. "I'm sorry but it's the truth!"

Scorpia laughed at the display. "So if you're wanting to take someone to the dance...who are you thinking of asking?"

Glimmer looked around them cautiously and then ushered the pair closer to her. "Okay no judgements."

"I would never judge you," Scorpia said quickly.

"Ditto," Bow agreed.

"Okay so...um...I don't…look it's really stupid," Glimmer said quietly.

"I'm sure they're great," Bow said.

"Well that's the problem," Glimmer whined. "She's way out of my league. Like, _way_ out of my league. Like I'm down here," Glimmer said as she placed one hand down below the table, "and she's like all the way up here!" Glimmer stretched her other arm up as high as she could reach.

"Well that would be more impressive if you were taller," Bow pointed out.

"I don't think you give yourself enough credit," Scorpia said. "There's no way they're out of your league."

"Mermista," Glimmer said defeatedly.

"Oh," Bow and Scorpia both said at the same time.

There was a long pause.

"Yeah that's pretty high up there," Bow said. "But also, like, what!? Yes!" He yelled loudly and Glimmer shushed him.

"You like Mermista?" Scorpia asked.

Bow chuckled as Glimmer buried her head in her hands. "Glimmer has a history with Mermista. It never went anywhere but it involves a friendship bracelet and at one point I think you joined choir."

"Well_, she_ was in choir so _I _had to be in choir!" Glimmer exclaimed. "But that was forever ago. And like she's super popular and pretty and I'm...well…"

Scorpia gasped and stood up a little from her seat. "Glimmer! You aren't allowed to say one more bad thing about yourself!"

"But…" Glimmer started.

"No!" Scorpia interrupted. "You are just as pretty and charming and charismatic as Mermista! Probably even moreso!"

"I…woah," Glimmer said, taken aback by the praise. "You...I don't know…"

"She's right, you know," Bow interjected. "And I'm not only saying that because I love you to bits. It's just true."

"Guys, I…"

Scorpia interrupted Glimmer again. "Are you gonna say something negative?"

"I mean...yeah? I'm just not…"

This time Scorpia pushed her finger up against Glimmer's mouth, blocking her lips and muffling her words.

"Mmffhhh," Glimmer managed to blurt out. "Ffwhat are byu doiiing?"

"You don't get to talk unless you say something good about yourself," Scorpia demanded, slowly removing her finger.

"Okay fine," Glimmer said, wiping at her mouth. "Maybe she's in my league."

"That's right," Bow said excitedly.

"And what else?" Scorpia asked.

"I…" Glimmer thought about it. "She likes my hair?"

"See you have great hair!" Scorpia proclaimed. "And you know what?"

"What?"

"You're gonna take you and your hair and march right over to Mermista's table and ask her to the dance right now."

"Oh I don't think I'm ready for that. I mean she's so…" Scorpia began to bring her finger back to Glimmer's mouth before Glimmer slapped it away defensively. "Okay, okay!"

Bow's eyes widened. "Does that mean you're gonna do it?"

"Well...it's now or never," Glimmer said, looking forlornly at the table where Mermista and a lot of other seniors sat.

Bow squealed with excitement and shook Glimmer by the shoulders. "Ooooh I'm so excited! She'll definitely say yes!"

"Unless she already has a date," Glimmer mumbled.

"Well you gotta try," Bow said. "The worst thing that can happen is just a few moments of crippling embarrassment."

"Gee thanks, Bow," Glimmer said nervously.

"But," Scorpia added, "it'll all go fine. You'll go over there and say, 'Oh hey you're really cool, let's dance'. And then she'll say 'Wow of course! I love your hair!'."

"I'm not sold on those details," Glimmer said. "But thanks for the confidence boost guys."

"You got this," Scorpia said, bumping Glimmer's shoulder lightly with her fist.

"You're a catch for sure," Bow said, giving Glimmer a small side-hug.

Glimmer took a deep breath and cracked her knuckles. "Okay."

She stood up and closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again and marching over to where Mermista was sitting.

Mermista's back was to her and Glimmer walked up awkwardly and stood behind her for a moment before she lightly tapped her on the shoulder.

Mermista turned around and slowly recognized Glimmer. "Oh hey. You're Adora's friend. It's, like, Glimmer right?"

Glimmer stared into Mermista's dark brown eyes and her mind went completely blank. "Uuuuhhhh. Glimmer? Oh! Glimmer! Yeah that's me!"

Mermista smiled. "Well what's up?"

"Um," Glimmer said slowly. She looked around and noticed that all of Mermista's friends were looking at her and she suddenly regretted everything. She wondered how she had let those two dopes talk her into this. "I...uh...I know you don't know me that well...but...I...uh...do you wanna, like…" Glimmer swallowed hard. "...do you wanna go to the Fall Formal with me?"

Glimmer felt like she was sweating everywhere and time seemed to freeze. A wave of surprise washed over Mermista's face. Glimmer couldn't tell what she was thinking. And her heart was beating so loud in her ears that she wasn't sure she'd even hear Mermista's response.

Glimmer watched as Mermista's face slowly changed from confusion to...worry. Glimmer frowned.

"I do kinda already have a date," Mermista said slowly.

Time sped back up again in a painful jolt as Glimmer suddenly became hyper-aware of her situation. Some of the kids at the table were snickering. Some looked like they pitied her. Glimmer felt her face getting hot and she started to step away.

"But…" Mermista continued, and Glimmer stopped herself from running away. "The person I was going with is kind of a jerk. So, like, what the heck. Let's do it."

Glimmer's eyes widened as her mind tried to recover from this emotional rollercoaster.

Mermista smiled. "What's your number?"

Glimmer stared at her blankly. "My...oh! Yeah! I have that." Glimmer hastily told Mermista her number and she put it in her phone.

"I'll, like, text you over the weekend and we'll get a plan together. We can, like, eat before or whatever."

"Woah," Glimmer said. "Yeah. Eating is...good."

Mermista smiled again, enjoying the effect she had on the girl.

"Thanks for asking me, Glimmer."

"Yeah. Thanks for...saying yes," Glimmer said, a little dazed still.

"Well it's hard not to," Mermista said smoothly.

Glimmer turned a shade of red she didn't know she could be. "I'm... I'll text you."

"Sounds good. See you around?"

"Definitely," Glimmer squeaked out before she turned around and quickly sped back to her table.

She saw Bow and Scorpia, standing out of their seats and watching her approach.

She hadn't even gotten to the table when Adora rushed up and met her as she reached her friends.

"Okay I have to know what just happened," Adora said excitedly.

Bow and Scorpia looked on expectantly.

"Well…" Glimmer said, rubbing her neck and smiling slowly. "She said yes."

* * *

"Woah. Mermista?" Catra asked, surprised. "That's a little out of her league."

"Don't be mean," Adora chided her. "And she said yes so clearly Glimmer is doing something right!"

"I guess so," Catra said.

They were waiting for Double Trouble to finish setting up the stage. They were gonna be going over voice projection today and interacting with the set.

"But anyway, I know you don't wanna hear me talk about Glimmer this whole time."

"I'll listen to anything you talk about," Catra said sincerely.

Adora snorted. "That was a little cheesy."

"Yeah it really was," Catra agreed.

"But what I _really _wanted to talk to you about was next week. The whole thing at lunch got me thinking about the dance. Not that I wasn't already thinking about it."

"I've been excited too," Catra said. "And I never thought I'd be excited for a school dance!"

Adora smiled. "You sure attending a school dance won't harm your street cred?"

"Eh, it probably will, but I'll just get in another fight and raise it back up again. Speaking of...did Madame Razz talk to you this morning?"

"Oh yeah!" Adora exclaimed. "We're not required to meet with her every morning! It's...uh... I mean…"

"I get you," Catra said, cutting her off. "It's bittersweet. She's really kinda nice to talk to."

"Exactly. She's really sweet. I might still go in and talk to her every once in a while."

"I think I might too."

"Look at you," Adora said with a cheeky grin. "When we first started meeting her you said it was a waste of time and you hated her."

"I didn't _hate_ her," Catra clarified. "I just have a problem with authority."

Adora rolled her eyes. "Let's go back to what I was originally saying. The dance next week. I was thinking...if you're okay with it...can I...can I cook dinner for us? And we can eat at my place? I'll make sure Glimmer and Angella are out of the way."

Catra felt her heart skip a beat as she was once again amazed at how great this girl was. "That sounds perfect."

"If you're sure! I was originally gonna surprise you, but I figured you would probably wanna know."

"Well I almost wish you hadn't told me cuz now I'm painfully excited," Catra said joyfully.

"Good. I... I'm no cook or anything but I just wanna make something for you. For us. So what's your favorite food? Like dinner food, you can't say cake again."

"Aw, you took my answer," Catra said with a wry smile before she began to think about the question. "I like…most food."

"Well just give me a category at least so I can narrow it down."

"Hmm...I like literally all Italian food."

"Italian it is," Adora announced excitedly. "I can't wait."

"I can't either. I...I really...I don't know how to say it, but…"

"What?" Adora pushed.

"Well," Catra made sure that Double Trouble was still setting up the stage. "I've just been looking forward to this since before I even asked you. Not the dance, but just, y'know, going with you and everything."

Adora smiled bashfully. "You know I...kinda was too."

"You were?"

"Oh yeah. I was desperately hoping that you'd ask though because I'm miserably awkward."

Catra chuckled. "I would've loved to see you try and ask me."

"Trust me you wouldn't. But I'm sure if you hadn't asked me I would've cornered you eventually."

"I sure hope so," Catra said softly, staring at Adora.

Adora stared back, realizing how cute Catra's eyebrows were. Adora and Catra, without realizing it, leaned a little closer together.

"Okay you two, we're gonna get starte…well _hello_," Double Trouble stopped a few feet from them.

The girls turned and Double Trouble laughed as the look on their faces looked like they had been caught in the middle of something.

"Well I can see you two are... getting into character," they said slyly.

Adora cleared her throat and looked down at the floor and Catra scratched at the back of her head nervously.

"Oh I'm just teasing you! The looks on your adorable little faces," they said with obvious amusement. "Let's get to work."

* * *

Later that night, Catra was sitting in her room. She was sprawled out on her bed watching Netflix. A pile of somewhat completed homework rested on her nightstand.

She looked over at her fish. Boba and Beefers were swimming about as they usually did. They had been getting along well. Catra watched them for a bit as they swam and suddenly wished Adora was there.

She decided she'd ask Adora to hang out this weekend. Lately it felt like no amount of time with Adora was enough. And now Catra was thinking big.

She wanted to move things forward with Adora. And she was almost definite that Adora wanted that too. The very thought made Catra smile.

She sat up in her bed and looked over to her closet. She hopped out of bed and went and grabbed her favorite and only suit. She ran her hands along it slowly and daydreamed about the dance.

Then she caught a glimpse of herself in her body mirror. She stood and looked at herself for a bit. For a moment she just saw herself, a scrawny teenager in her pajamas with seemingly eternal bedhead.

But then, as she had done hundreds of times before, she began to notice all the things she didn't like. She looked at her face, seeing every last thing she hated about it. She tried covering certain parts of it with one hand to try and visualize how she would look without certain features. If her jaw was wider. A stronger chin.

And then there was her body. Catra tried not to look at that for long as it always made her feel...bad. She once again tried to block off visual aspects of herself. She squinted her eyes in an attempt to blur her form until it was so unrecognizable that she approved.

Catra turned away from the mirror. She closed her eyes briefly and chewed on her nails, breathing deeply.

_"I_ _need to get a handle on myself," _Catra thought.

She sat back on her bed, the suit still in her hands, and laid back, staring up at the ceiling. She laid like that for a while, but she couldn't shake the lingering feeling of discomfort she had.

She groaned and stood up out of bed again, quickly removing her pajamas and slipping into her suit. She put on everything but the tie and took a deep breath before walking over and looking in the mirror again.

"There we go," Catra said quietly to herself, sighing lightly. There were still things she didn't like, but wearing this suit had always made her feel better about herself. It was well fitted but didn't hug her in the chest or the hips, which Catra appreciated.

Catra examined herself again, now finding it a little easier. She wondered how many times she had put on this suit alone in her room and done this exact thing.

Her attention was drawn to her hair. It was wild and unkempt as it usually was and it fell down to about her mid-back. Catra had used to trim it and try to tame it in the past, but she found it was easier to just let it do what it wanted.

But now Catra looked at it and saw it as one of the few things she could easily change about herself. It was something she could control.

Catra grabbed her phone off of her bed and began to look up pictures of short hairstyles. She was perusing the results when she heard a knock at her door.

She looked up from her phone. "Come in!"

The door slowly opened and Catra's dad walked in, coming down the stairs slowly. "Hey, you," he said as he walked over to her and sat next to her on the bed. "You're looking pretty fancied up for a Friday night at home!"

Catra smiled. "Yeah I...I was just making sure it still fit. For the dance and everything."

Gerald patted her on the back. "It looks great, sweetie. I'm so excited for you. And Adora seems like a great girl."

"Thanks, dad. She really is," Catra agreed. "Hey. Can I get my hair cut sometime soon?"

"Well yeah of course! I can drive you over whenever you want. It is getting a little... scraggly. But still nice!"

"No you're right, it's all over the place. And I want...I wanna get it really short. I don't know how short yet, but, like, I need a change."

"Okay yeah," he said supportively. "I think that would look really good! If it's what you wanna do then we'll go for it. We could do it the day of your dance and they can style it up and have you looking all spiffy for your night."

"That's a great idea," Catra agreed.

"I'm just glad I didn't have to force you down to the hair salon this time," he said with a chuckle, ruffling her hair. Catra pushed his hand away playfully, a smile on her face.

"So what did you come down here for?" Catra asked.

"Oh I can't just wanna see my daughter?" He joked.

"I can tell there's something," Catra said.

Gerald sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "There is something I wanted to talk to you about, yeah." He shifted a little on the bed and frowned and Catra suddenly felt worry in the pit of her stomach.

Her dad saw the look on her face and rushed to ease her nerves. "It's nothing serious. Don't worry. It's just...well...your mom called."

Catra processed this. "What did she say?"

"Well...she said she isn't gonna be able to make it to Thanksgiving this year."

"Ah," Catra said bluntly. "That's what? Three Thanksgivings in a row? It should just be a given now that she won't show up."

Her father looked at her, concerned, and put an arm on her shoulder. "She did say she had planned on coming. But apparently things came up at work and your step-dad got sick and she can't make it."

"Yeah I think that's the same excuse she used last year actually. She's getting lazy," Catra said spitefully.

"Look, I...I know we've had this talk a lot in the last few years. And I know you probably don't wanna go too deep into it right now."

Catra shook her head in agreement.

"But I want you to know that she does love you. Even if she can't see you often."

"Yeah."

Gerald pulled his daughter close and hugged her. "Hey. Don't worry. Remember last Thanksgiving? We're gonna have a great time."

"Yeah you tried making too much food and we ended up eating at, like, eleven at night," Catra said with a small chuckle.

"Yeah, but what about when we finally did eat?"

Catra sighed. "It was really good."

"It was really good!" He exclaimed.

This got a smile out of Catra and Gerald smiled back as he saw it. "I'm gonna make way less food this year. And I'm gonna start earlier. And I'm gonna put you to work, my little culinary student." He elbowed her playfully.

"Well the last time I tried to make mashed potatoes in that class there was a minor injury and many health code violations, but I'll sure try."

"That's the spirit," he said proudly. "And hey. It's gonna be great. My family might come over for a bit, but hopefully they leave early again."

"Oh gosh, hopefully," Catra said.

Her dad laughed. "I'll try and push them along. And then we'll have some good time with just us. And you can invite Adora if you want! Or anyone you want."

Catra smiled. "Thanks, dad. I'm not upset."

"Well there's nothing wrong with being upset. You have good reason to be mad about it. But if you ever need to talk about mom or anything at all, I'm here."

"I know, dad. I will."

They hugged again and Gerald smiled. "But next time we have a talk like this let me know beforehand that it's formal attire only," he joked, gesturing at her suit.

Catra chuckled at his lame joke.

"You wanna play a game?" He asked. "Or you can go back to what you were doing. Didn't mean to interrupt."

Catra thought back to her alternative and shook her head. "No, let's play something."

"Oh good. Let's play that one with the zombies again," he said as Catra hopped up and turned on the console.

She laughed. "Okay, dad. Even though you suck at it."

He strongly objected to this as she came and sat back on the bed next to him and they played games together for hours into the night, allowing Catra to take her mind off of what was bothering her and to spend some time with her father.

_**I hate making Catra sad, but it's what you gotta do sometimes. She has some things that she needs to work on and I promise I'll get into it more later. But it's a big part of her that I wanted to address sooner rather than later. Also, like, Mermista and Glimmer going to the formal is goals.**_

_**Also the last season of She-Ra comes out in just a few days! So hyped.**_

_**But anyway, I've been listening to certain songs as I write this story and making a little playlist for this fic and for the characters in general and I figured I'd share them with you! I'm sure some of these songs will make no sense to you and I might have just added a few of them because of my headcanons but whatever :)**_

_**Some of these are explicit I think so just a warning.**_

_**But the main reason I did this is just so that you can listen if you want and especially to share with me if you have any songs that you think fit either the characters in my story, or the characters more as they are from the show. I just love music and I'm not picky so if something comes to mind or even if there's just an unrelated song that you love, I'd love to hear it. So just reply with it or you can always pm me.**_

_**Thanks! And also thanks for reading! Stay safe and healthy and happy. Bye!**_

**Bow:**

Best Friend for Hire by Anthony Amorim

Textbook Bow song. This is basically how I imagine Bow met Glimmer back in middle school. He's so sweet.

**Glimmer**:

Footprints by Molly Kate Kestner

This one is about sisterhood and it makes me cry every time.

**Adora**:

Mine by Phoebe Ryan

This song has always seemed to me like conquering self flaws and coping with problems. A strong song for a strong girl.

Where I'm From by Colony House

This one really gives me feels and I think it fits Adora great because she isn't sure where home is yet and grappled with where she's from all the time.

Mess Her Up by Amy Shark

This one really makes me think about Adora keeping a secret from Glimmer and the lengths she goes to to hide it and the guilt she feels about it all. And it did kinda mess Glimmer up.

**Catra**:

Is this all I am good for? by Montaigne

This one is big for Catra. Catra has a lot of insecurities and I have only just barely begun to touch on it but she has a lot of insecurities with her body as well. Which I won't go into too much here because I want to develop it later. But this song sets a good tone for Catra in the next segment.

Back in School by Mother Mother

This is a rebel song for rebel Catra. She's straightened out a lot but she's still a little rebel at heart. Also this is a PREMIUM Lonnie song.

Not Worth Hiding by Alex the Astronaut

Real life can be hard for a lot of people in the LGBTQ+ community. I don't touch on a lot of these issues in my story because they make me sad and it's too hard to write but that doesn't mean they don't exist in real life. Never be ashamed of who you are.

**Glimmer and Catra:**

that's just how it goes by Role Model

This one is all about a bad split and gives me vibes. It's hard going from besties to girlfriends to enemies.

**Catra and Adora:**

She by Dodie

This is I think the most applicable song of any on this list. It really fits so great minus maybe the sad part at the end.

Could You Be Mine by Billy Raffoul

This is just a sweet love song and full of longing and it fits the mood.

Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls

This is probably my favorite song of all time so I'm just biased here. But it just fits for me. And I'm sure Catra could play this on the guitar like a beast. It's more her style with the edginess and such.

May I Have This Dance? by Francis and the Lights

This is one of my favorite love songs and always makes me cry and I just love the thought of these two dancing to it together. Princess Prom vibes.

Ooh by Jon Bellion ft. Christianne Jensen

So upon further listening I think this song is really sexual. But. Also a lot of love! Look I just think telling someone their lips taste like June is the cutest most romantic thing probably ever so here it is.

What You Mean to Me by Montaigne

Favorite artist of all time. And a bisexual queen. Had to add her to the list.

I Think I'm In Love by Kat Dahlia

At this point I'm just adding all my favorite love songs. But the playful naive love in this song is so high school and so Catradora. Love it.

Adore by Amy Shark

It's cute. And Adore is literally one letter away from Adora...so...there's that.

I See You by Missio

They have each other's backs.

Would You Be So Kind by Dodie

This one's totally from Catra's view. Hoping Adora will fall in love with her back.

**Scorpia**:

The Good In Me by Jon Bellion

This gives me major Scorpia themes. The whole line with 'Your heart's a vine that I've bled trying to climb' just really reminds me of Scorpia and her love for Catra. I think a part of her always knew that Catra and her weren't ever going to be more than friends and yet she beat herself up over it for years. Rough.

Turning Out by AJR

This fits my Scorpia view but also like all of these characters are still turning out. It's a lot of change and challenges in high school and they're all kinda finding themselves.


	32. Chapter 32

Bow arrived at school early Monday morning. He sighed in relief as he entered the school, glad to escape the cold outside. It was the time of year again where he couldn't wear his crop-tops due to the cold. And this always hit Bow pretty hard since a good majority of his wardrobe lacked a midriff.

But this morning Bow was feeling pretty good. He had slept well the night before and had a really cool dream about saving a pod of whales. And now he was looking forward to his school day and he was excited for the week.

He tugged at the sweater he wore, finding it uncomfortably restricting, as he made his way to his locker. He waved to a few people in the halls and they waved back.

Bow was well liked at the school. He was one of those kids that everybody had a pretty good opinion of. He never started anything and he was always nice to people.

He stopped on his way and helped a janitor carry some of their supplies. Bow regularly talked to the janitors and knew all of their names. The janitor thanked Bow for his help and gave him a stick of gum, which he chewed on joyfully as he made his way down the halls.

He was passing by the bathrooms and humming a little tune when he spotted Scorpia, who was standing outside the girl's bathroom and looking around at the ground, a confused look on her face.

"Good morning, Scorpia," Bow said cheerfully. "Are you alright?"

"Huh?" Scorpia said, turning to face him. "Oh hey, Bow. Uh...I...hmmm…" Scorpia turned back around and began scanning the floor again.

Bow looked over her shoulder and didn't see anything. "Uh. Whatcha looking for?"

"My backpack. I put it out here against the wall before I went to the bathroom and now it's…not there."

"Oh no," Bow said. "What's it look like?"

"It's like real big and black and has a bunch of little, uh, what are they called? The little…" Scorpia frantically pantomimed zipping up an invisible bag.

"Oh zippers!"

"Yeah zippers!" Scorpia said, snapping her fingers together.

"Well let's see…" Bow looked around the immediate vicinity and didn't see a bag matching the description anywhere near them. "I don't see it."

"Yeah I don't either. Maybe someone…"

"Someone stole it!" Bow exclaimed.

"Well I don't know if they _stole_ it," Scorpia said uneasily. "They probably just accidentally took it?"

Bow narrowed his eyes. "Oh sweet Scorpia. So blind to the evils of the world. This looks like the textbook work of a bag thief."

"But why would they take my bag? I love that bag."

Bow clapped a hand onto Scorpia's shoulder. "Some people are just cruel. But you're in luck! I happen to know a top notch spy who can easily help you track down the culprit!"

"Who?" Scorpia asked curiously.

Bow smiled and fished around in his backpack pocket for a moment. After a few seconds of fumbling with it, he whipped out a pair of shades that he quickly opened and placed on his face. "Me."

"Oh wow that does make you look like a spy."

"I know right!? And they were on sale!" Bow exclaimed. "But we need to get back to the case."

"Oh right," Scorpia said, nodding along.

"Do you have any enemies? Anyone who would have a motive?"

"Hmm," Scorpia thought for a moment, scratching at her head. "I don't think so. Well. Wait. The other day someone got mad at me cuz I took a parking spot before they could."

"Oooh hmmm," Bow said slowly. "That could be our motive!"

"I'm sure it was just an accident, Bow. Maybe we should ask the office?"

"Oh no of course not. The office won't have the intel we need yet. And if they put out an announcement then the thief will dump the back and it'll never be seen again."

"I have a bunch of trail mix in there," Scorpia said, frowning.

"Scorpia I promise you we're gonna find your trail mix if it's the last thing I do."

"Thanks, Bow."

"Now let's go find our first suspect."

* * *

After slowly walking through the cafeteria and having Scorpia identify everyone she saw, she eventually spotted the person who had gotten upset with her the other morning.

Bow excitedly led Scorpia over to the table where they were eating their breakfast.

Bow immediately pulled out a chair and sat down at the table in the seat across from him. Scorpia slowly followed suit.

The guy looked up from his cereal and eyed both of them. There was a boy wearing shades staring at him intensely and a worried looking girl who was looking under the table for something.

"Good morning," Bow said formally. "How's your cereal?"

"Uh... good? Who are you people?" The boy said, more than a little confused.

"Ha!" Bow exclaimed. "We're the ones asking the questions. Do you recognize this woman?" He gestured to Scorpia who smiled and waved at the boy.

"Uh... I've seen her around I guess, but I don't know her."

"Oh I'm Scorpia, nice to meet you," Scorpia said quickly.

"No, don't fraternize with the suspect!" Bow demanded.

"Suspect?" The boy asked.

Bow chuckled. "He's in denial. Where were you, like, ten minutes ago?"

"Um...here I guess," the boy answered. "I don't understand…"

"Well I don't buy it. And my partner doesn't either." Bow looked to Scorpia.

"Oh I'm the partner!" Scorpia realized. "Uh…did you steal my bag?"

"Your bag?" The boy asked.

"Yeah it's big and black and has a lot of zippers," Scorpia explained.

"Um. No," the boy answered, shifting uncomfortably in his chair.

"But you got mad at my partner just the other day did you not!? For stealing your parking spot?" Bow confronted the boy.

"Well I wouldn't say I _stole _it," Scorpia added.

"Oh yeah," the student said, slowly remembering. "I mean I did get a little mad I guess. But I was just having a bad day. Sorry."

"Aw," Scorpia said caringly. "I forgive you."

"Well," Bow intervened. "Don't forgive him just yet. He could be lying!"

"I don't know, he seems genuine," Scorpia disagreed.

"Thank you," the confused boy said helplessly. "What is happening?"

Bow looked him over and then studied his cereal. "It does seem that his cereal is pretty soggy. If he had taken your bag and then hid it and then gotten cereal it would still be all crunchy."

"Oh cool," Scorpia said. "That's some good spy work!"

"That's right," Bow said, lowering his shades to stare at the boy they were interrogating. "You're free to go. Me and my partner have other people to shake down."

Bow stood up from the table and Scorpia followed him as they left the table.

"It was nice meeting you!" Scorpia called back to the boy as they walked off.

"That went well, partner," Bow said with a smile. "We really fell into a good cop/bad cop dynamic."

"Yeah we did! This is actually kinda fun. But if it wasn't him then who was it?"

"Good question. I think it's time we question the witnesses."

"Shouldn't we have maybe done that first?"

"Probably yes."

* * *

"Okay, who do you remember being here at the bathroom? When you went in and when you went out." Bow and Scorpia were back at the bathrooms and Scorpia was thinking back to the event.

"I'm not really sure. I'm not too good with faces. Hmmm…" Scorpia scanned the surrounding lockers. She stopped and pointed at a boy who was packing things into his locker across the hall. "Oh! Daniel was at his locker when it happened! I remember cuz he has that cat poster in his locker and I thought it was cute."

"A lead," Bow said with a grin. "Let's go question him. Here you can take the shades this time."

"Oh sick!" Scorpia said with a chuckle as she grabbed the glasses from Bow and slipped them on.

The pair walked up to the guy who was at his locker and he turned around as he heard them approach. He looked surprised to see them.

"Hey Bow. Hey Scorpia. What's up?" He asked. "Nice shades."

"Thanks Daniel!" Scorpia said, adjusting the glasses. "But we ask the questions!"

Bow looked surprised. "Oh shoot, am I good cop now?"

Scorpia nodded and Bow readjusted his approach. "Hey Daniel. We were just wondering if we could ask you some questions."

He smiled crookedly and looked Bow over. "You can call me Dani. And sure. What do you wanna know?"

"That's another question, Dani," Scorpia interrupted. "We ask the questions."

"Oh yeah sorry," Dani apologized.

"No it's alright," Bow quickly assured him. "We're wondering if you might have seen anybody take Scorpia's backpack from right over there when you were at your locker this morning?"

"It's big and black and has a lot of zippers," Scorpia added.

Dani cocked his head to one side and thought about it for a while. "I'm not sure...well...there was one thing I remember. I don't know if she stole your backpack, but that senior girl, Shauna King, got in a big argument with someone and things were getting pretty heated. Mr. Hordak had to come and chew them out."

"Shauna yeah," Bow said slowly. "I've heard she's pretty rough and tumble. Maybe she stole that bag out of spite!"

"Well we better find her and question her," said Scorpia, who was starting to enjoy the search for the bag.

"That's our next suspect then," Bow agreed. "Thanks Dani."

"Sure thing," he said casually. "Have you tried checking with the office?"

"No, Bow said this is a delicate operation," Scorpia answered.

Bow nodded. "It's true. We can't trust the higher-ups with this."

Dani laughed. "Alright well let me know how it goes. You, uh, you want my number? That way you can, like, text me when you find it." He looked at Bow when he asked this.

"Oh yeah sure," Bow said. He exchanged numbers with Dani. Scorpia watched on, a small smile in her face.

"Well I gotta go," Dani said. "But I hope that bag turns up. It was nice talking to you guys. I'll see you in art class, Bow. It was nice talking to you."

"Yeah see you," Bow replied as Dani shouldered his bag and left.

Bow turned back around to Scorpia. "Alright so Shauna King is our next…...why are you making that face?"

Scorpia was smiling and starting at Bow with a funny expression. "You mean you don't know?"

"Know what?"

"Dani was _sooo_ into you," Scorpia said tauntingly.

Bow looked surprised and looked back over his shoulder to where Dani had left. "What? No he was just…" Bow paused. "Oh...oh dang maybe you're right."

Scorpia poked at Bow's arm. "He was giving you the eyes, Bow. It's a good thing you weren't bad cop!"

Bow smiled and rubbed at his neck. "Yeah I guess so." He looked back down the hall. Then he shook his head. "Anyway, there's no time for distractions!"

"Even if the distraction is _Dani_?" Scorpia crooned.

Bow looked a little flustered at this. "Let's...let's just go find our suspect." He took off down the hall and Scorpia followed, laughing loudly.

* * *

"Okay there she is," Bow told Scorpia, motioning to Shauna, their suspect, whose back was to them.

"Do you think she really took it?" Scorpia asked. "I mean, why would she?"

"I don't know. She was in an argument. Got in trouble. Probably got mad about that and figured she better steal a backpack."

"That doesn't really track but I won't disagree," Scorpia said. She took off the shades and handed them over to Bow. "Your turn to be bad cop."

"Challenge accepted," Bow said as he donned the shades.

The pair made their way over to Shauna and Bow cleared his throat. "Hey, you," he said, trying to sound tough.

Shauna turned around with a scowl on her face, annoyed by the greeting and looked down at Bow. Shauna was big. Not as muscular or as tall as Scorpia, but her attitude made her feel bigger than she was. "What do you two want?" She asked with a grunt.

Bow's tough-guy charade fell apart immediately. "Uh...we...uh…"

Scorpia butted in to try and help her partner. "Hello ma'am. I'm Scorpia and this is Bow. Nice to meet you! We were wondering if we could ask you some questions ab…"

"Not interested," Shauna said dismissively and turned back around to talk to her friends.

Bow and Scorpia looked at one another defeatedly.

"Well that didn't go well," Scorpia said.

"Yeah no kidding. She's scary. I don't deserve to wear these glasses."

"Oh don't say that. You're a great bad cop." Scorpia reassured him. "But it is almost time for class and I don't have my bag."

"Okay fine. We should probably go check the lost and found then."

"You sure?"

"Yeah," he said defeatedly, taking off the glasses. "It's probably just sitting there."

The two walked over to the office and asked to see the lost and found. The person at the front desk led them to a small room. Scorpia and Bow looked around and immediately realized that the bag wasn't there.

"Well that's actually problematic," Bow said.

"So someone must have actually taken it then," Scorpia said thoughtfully. "We just have to actually find out who."

Bow frowned. "Well but class starts soon and you probably need your bag for your classes, huh?"

"Well not really. I don't need anything for my first two classes. But I do have homework still in there for my culinary class later today."

"Okay so we have till after lunch!" Bow said, a spark of hope returning to him. "We can still find it!"

"Yeah we can sure try," Scorpia said, grinning at his enthusiasm. "I'll meet you at lunch and we can keep looking. Except...our only lead is Shauna and she doesn't wanna talk."

"You know…" Bow said thoughtfully. "I think we both know someone who can handle Shauna."

* * *

"You want me to what?" Catra asked, arms crossed.

"Get Shauna to tell us if she took my backpack," Scorpia explained. "We think it was her but she scared us."

Catra snorted. "Yeah sure, whatever. But...what about lunch?"

"Scorpia and I grabbed a bunch of muffins from the kitchen!" Bow said as he held up a bag of muffins.

"Oh joy," Catra said sarcastically as she looked back at the lunch line behind her. "Okay where is she?"

Scorpia and Bow led Catra over to the cafeteria and quickly spotted Shauna.

"There she is," Scorpia said. "Do you want the shades?"

"What? No I don't want the…well...yeah hand 'em over." Catra put on the shades and walked over to Shauna's table, Bow and Scorpia in tow.

Catra sat down at the table right in front of Shauna and Bow and Scorpia stood standing behind her.

"Not you guys again," Shauna said angrily.

"Hey," Catra said. "We have some questions about a backpack."

"What is it with you guys?" Shauna asked, getting annoyed.

Catra sighed. "Look, Shauna, I'm gonna be honest with you. These two are kind of idiots. But they're also _my_ idiots. So can you just answer the questions?"

"Why should I?" She countered.

"Why shouldn't you?" Catra snapped back immediately. "Heard you got in a fight today. How was that?"

"Not sure why you care. But it sucked. I have detention for the next few weeks thanks to Mr. Hordak."

Catra chuckled at this. "Screw that guy. You know I put bologna on his car one time?"

Shauna raised an eyebrow. "You liar."

"Cross my heart and hope to die," Catra said, raising her hands. "And it was so hot outside. You should've seen him when he saw it. Proudest moment of my life."

Shauna studied Catra for a moment before smiling in approval. "That sounds pretty awesome."

"I'm pretty cool, yeah." Catra responded as she reached a hand out across the table. "Catra."

"I'm Shauna," the girl said as she shook Catra's hand. "What did you guys wanna ask me?"

Bow started to speak but Catra spoke first. "Did you happen to see a backpack today? Scorpia can't find it and they think someone took it."

"It's all black and has just a bunch of zippers on it," Scorpia mentioned.

Shauna thought about it. "No I haven't. Sorry."

Bow and Scorpia sighed and Catra pushed her chair back.

"No that's fine," Catra answered. "Thanks for helping out. You seem cool."

Shauna smiled. "Yeah you too. Hey just a thought…"

Catra, who had been walking away, turned back to face Shauna.

"Aren't there security cameras in the school? Couldn't you check those?"

"Not a bad idea at all," Catra said with a grin. "We'd just have to find a way to access the video feed."

"Well I could ask the custodial staff," Bow said. "I talk to the janitors a lot."

"Onwards to the custodial office!" Scorpia declared. The three thanked Shauna for the advice as they went off towards the room where the janitors kept all their supplies.

"I'm coming too," Catra said. "You got me hooked now."

"Welcome to the team," Bow said with a grin.

They all passed by where Adora was sitting and Adora watched them walk by, shooting a questioning look at Catra.

"Long story," Catra said with a shrug as she walked past. "I'll tell you about it in weights! Have a good lunch! Miss you!"

Adora smiled and let them go, shaking her head and wondering what they could possibly be up to before she walked over and ate lunch with Glimmer.

Scorpia, Bow, and Catra made their way to the custodial office and Bow knocked on the door.

They waited a few moments before a woman opened the door and smiled as she recognized Bow.

"Hello, Bow," she said cheerily. "You don't have to knock, you know."

"Oh I was just being polite," Bow explained. "Kathy, we need to get our hands on some security footage from this morning to see if we can track down a stolen backpack. Can you help us?"

"Oh dear. Well I don't know if we're supposed to use the footage without an emergency but...I suppose if it's to find a missing bag we could try. Follow me." She opened the door wider and the three saw that the room was filled with supplies and stocked school items. A loud noise was coming from a whole host of pipes and machines along the walls. Kathy led them back through the room and down a hall, ushering them into a small office and flicking on the lights.

There were a few old monitors in the room, all turned off, and a thick layer of dust covered everything in the room.

"This is it," Kathy said. "I'm not sure I can help much though. I've never seen anybody even go in this room before."

Scorpia walked up and began poking at the apparatus that was laid out on the table and tried to turn on the monitors to no avail.

"Do you know how to turn it on?" Scorpia asked.

"I'm afraid not. I'm what they call technologically illiterate."

Catra perked up at this and it caught Bow's attention.

"What is it, Catra?"

"Well I think I might actually know probably the one person who is nerdy enough to get this working," Catra said slowly.

* * *

"Oh this is so cool!" Entrapta yelled as she entered the security office and saw the old equipment. "What a dated setup! You'd think they'd have upgraded!"

Catra sidled into the room behind Entrapta. "Well yeah if there was a big button labeled 'On' we could probably handle it, but we're kinda out of our league here."

"Well I'm glad you called me," Entrapta said excitedly. "I haven't gotten to work with a security system this old before." She looked over the various bits of hardware on the desk and the monitors mounted on the wall.

"What are friends for?" Catra asked with a smile. "Knock yourself out."

"Gladly," Entrapta said as she felt around the back of one of the bigger pieces that looked kind of like a computer. She knelt and rooted through a pile of assorted cords all tangled together before selecting a particular cord and plugging it into the piece before her. Then she plugged a few more cords into the monitors and pushed a few buttons and within moments the device on the table whirred to life and the monitors blinked on.

"Wow," Scorpia and Bow said in unison.

"Told ya," Catra said to them with a cheeky grin. "Now, Entrapta, if you can help us sort through the footage somehow."

"Alright," Entrapta said, connecting a keyboard to the device. "When and where do you wanna see?"

"This morning at the beginning of free period. And any footage that shows the bathrooms near the front of the school." Scorpia informed the girl.

Entrapta began to type a few things into the keyboards and hit a button on a remote and one of the monitors flicked over to a still image of a hallway. Entrapta clicked again and the image changed to a shot of the cafeteria, where students could be seen eating in very poor video quality.

"So cool…" Entrapta said quietly as she clicked a few more times.

"Right there!" Bow alerted her as a still popped up that displayed the bathrooms. It was at a weird angle, but it showed enough of the bathrooms that they would be able to see who had taken the bag.

"Alright. I'm gonna start half an hour early and we'll fast forward until we see Scorpia," Entrapta said as she typed a bit more. The feed showed an empty hall for a while and then, as Entrapta sped up the footage, they began to see a slow trickle of students arrive in the shot and zip around on the tape.

"This is probably the coolest thing I've ever done," Bow said, his voice quivering with excitement.

Scorpia held her fist to her mouth and shuffled from foot to foot. "This is a lot of suspense."

Even Catra was invested now, staring intently at the screen and biting at her lip.

When Scorpia appeared on screen, everybody instantly called for Entrapta to stop the fast forwarding and she immediately returned the playback to normal speed.

The four held their breath and watched in eager anticipation as Scorpia walked over to the bathrooms, her bag resting on her back.

"Oh man," Scorpia whispered. "My hair looks awful from this angle."

"Oh shut up, you have perfect hair," Catra whispered back.

A silence fell over the room once more as the Scorpia in the video placed her bag down against the wall outside the girl's bathroom and disappeared from view as she walked inside.

They watched as some events began to transpire as they expected. Shauna could barely be seen in the corner of the screen getting upset with another student. But all eyes were glued to the backpack as the seconds passed.

Hordak had just appeared on scene when a new figure walked up towards the girl's bathroom. They looked around for a second and then went into the girl's bathroom. Only a handful of seconds later the figure left the bathroom and picked up Scorpia's bag, walking away slowly.

Catra, Bow, and Scorpia all stared on in shock. They had instantly recognized the figure. Despite the grainy footage in the video, it was hard to mistake the telltale poof of bright pink hair on the person's head.

* * *

"So how'd your test go?" Adora asked Glimmer as they ate lunch together.

"Not too bad thanks to our last minute studying last night! I'm glad we're doing that again."

"Me too," Adora said sincerely.

"And you're actually sitting with me today so Catra must be doing something," Glimmer joked.

"Is that, like, an 'I'm upset but I'm hiding it' joke?" Adora asked, concerned.

"I'm not sure," Glimmer said honestly. "But really though, I'm glad you're sitting with Catra more. She, uh, she makes you...happier."

Adora smiled. "Yeah she does. But I want you to know that I really miss sitting with you too. And if you ever feel ready to sit all together I will do it in a heartbeat."

"Oh my god," Glimmer said distractedly.

"What? Was that too much?" Adora asked, feeling self conscious before realizing that Glimmer was looking over her shoulder.

Adora turned and saw Bow and Scorpia practically running towards their table, Catra speed-walking behind them to keep up.

Bow held up a finger and pointed at Glimmer as they charged up. "Thief!" He exclaimed.

"Case solved!" Scorpia declared, pointing at Glimmer as well.

Catra just stared on with an amused look as she sidled up to the table as well.

"What?" Glimmer asked, confused out of her mind.

"You were the last person we would have expected," Bow said proudly. "But we should have known."

Glimmer blinked a few times. "Uh."

"You kinda sorta stole my bag on accident I think," Scorpia explained.

"Stole? _Stole!?_" Glimmer clarified. "I put it in your locker for you."

There was a prolonged moment of silence that was eventually broken by Catra stifling her laughter.

"Wait...it's in my locker right now?" Scorpia asked.

"Uh, yeah," Glimmer said. "I looked in the bathroom and didn't see you so I figured you had left it. Cuz you forget that bag everywhere."

"I do," Scorpia said thoughtfully.

Bow looked to Scorpia. "You didn't check your locker?"

"How was I supposed to know it was there!?" Scorpia asked, raising her arms in defense.

"I texted you about it a few times," Glimmer answered.

Scorpia sucked air through her teeth slowly. "Ah. See...about that...my phone's been dead. I forgot to charge it last night…"

Bow facepalmed and Catra just laughed harder at the anticlimactic resolution to the case.

Scorpia frowned. "Well...that's...hmmm. I guess...case solved?"

Bow shook his head and smiled helplessly. He wrapped a lazy arm around Scorpia. "I was hoping it would end in a cool chase scene or something but this makes more sense I guess."

"Yeah I guess it does," Scorpia said. "I can't believe we tapped into the security cameras for this."

"Hold up, you what?" Adora asked.

"That's confidential information," Bow answered quickly.

Catra sighed and put a hand on Adora's shoulder. "Scorpia and I will fill you in during weights. It was one of the more entertaining things I've witnessed all day." She turned to Bow and Scorpia. "Can we go grab some actual food real quick?"

"I already ate so many muffins though," Bow said, patting his stomach.

"Yeah me too," Scorpia said. "Plus I wanna go to my locker and see this bag. For closure."

Catra shook her head. "You guys are crazy. I'm gonna go get some food. Glad I could help solve this one."

"Thanks, Catra!" Bow and Scorpia both shouted after her as she walked away towards the kitchen.

"I can't believe you guys were looking for that bag all morning," Glimmer said with a goofy smile. "I almost wish I _had_ actually stolen it so I could hide it somewhere and see how far you guys would go."

"Well we dare you to try sometime," Bow challenged his friend.

"Well...maybe with Bow's backpack next time," Scorpia suggested.

"But we know who our first suspect will be now," Bow said suspiciously, staring at Glimmer. "Let's go see this bag we've been chasing."

Scorpia and Bow waved goodbye to Adora and Glimmer and went off towards Scorpia's locker.

They got there and Scorpia put in her combination, pausing before she opened it. Then she slowly pulled on the door and revealed a very familiar backpack hanging on a hook inside.

"Well shoot," Scorpia said simply.

The pair stared at the bag for a while and then Scorpia began to giggle. Her laughter was infectious and Bow began to laugh too. Soon they were both doubled over as the futility of their whole adventure washed over them.

Eventually they were able to stop laughing and Bow wheezed a few times.

"Oh man," Scorpia said, wiping a tear from her eye.

Bow sighed contentedly. "You know it may not have been the coolest case, but I think we did some great work, partner."

Bow held out a closed fist and Scorpia bumped it.

She smiled fondly. "You know it was really fun wasn't it? I liked being bad cop."

"Oh you were such a good bad cop," Bow congratulated her.

"Oh man but when we were interrogating that first guy? You really had him!"

"Well I'm an experienced spy," Bow said, doing a small bow.

Scorpia clapped and giggled joyfully.

"Hey," Bow said as Scorpia grabbed her backpack and closed her locker. "Are you going to the dance on Friday?"

Scorpia frowned. "Well, I don't know. I _did_ want to originally…"

"Well why not anymore?" Bow asked.

"Well...er...it's a long story. But I asked someone and it didn't work out."

"Oh I'm sorry," Bow said considerately.

"Thanks. It kinda sucked. And then I thought I might ask Glimmer."

"Oh dang."

"Well I mean just as, like, friends or whatever," Scorpia clarified quickly, waving her hands in front of her defensively. "But now she's going with Mermista. And so I guess I probably just won't go."

"Well that's what I was gonna ask about. Cuz all my friends are going now but I don't wanna be the ultimate third wheel. So if you still wanna go we could totally go together!"

Scorpia looked at him and realized he was serious. "Yeah? That...sounds pretty fun actually! But are you sure? I mean, you could easily find a date if you wanted."

"Well thanks," Bow said sincerely. "But I'm not really interested in taking anybody as, like, a _date_."

"What about Dani?"

Bow blushed. "Well...I don't...he's probably not even into me."

"He seemed pretty into you from where I was standing," Scorpia said with a sly grin.

"Well I don't even know him," Bow said. "And then I'd be stressed all night when I just wanna have fun. Which is why we should go! If you want to, that is."

"Yeah that sounds really nice. Thanks, Bow."

"Don't thank me just yet!" Bow said. "I'm a terrible dancer and I am not afraid to embarrass you publicly."

Scorpia laughed loudly. "Oh boy. I'm just excited to go again! I love dances." She unzipped one of the compartments on her bag and looked inside.

"I like them too," Bow agreed. "Any chance to dress up and I'll be there!"

Scorpia checked another pouch and then another.

Bow spotted her looking confused. "What's wrong?"

"Well... it's just I could've sworn I had my trail mix packed in here. But...man it's been a crazy day. I must've imagined it."

"Huh. Must have," Bow agreed.

The pair then made plans for the dance.

* * *

Later that day, Glimmer went to her locker before her last class period and opened it. She scanned her surroundings.

And then, when she was sure that nobody was looking, Glimmer cackled to herself quietly as she moved a notebook aside and revealed a small bag of trail mix sitting in the back of her locker.

_**The End?**_

_**Man that chapter was so extremely fun. Spy buddies on the case. And they're both so sweet and caring and would definitely get along so well.**_

_**Also oh my god. That last season of She-Ra though. It made my heart so weak. I mean it was all so good. And that kiss though. What a great show and I am so extremely glad that I got to be there for it.**_

_**And now I can write this story as a way of coping with it being over :)**_

_**So I hope you all enjoy this chapter and thanks for reading and always saying such nice things! I hope you all are doing the best you possibly can. See you next time!**_


	33. Chapter 33

_**Hey everyone just a little content warning here. There is a very brief description of a panic attack in this chapter. If this is a problem for you and you don't feel comfortable reading it, just reach out to me and I can always give you a summary.**_

Wednesday morning rolled around and Adora was in the kitchen eating breakfast before school when Angella walked in, phone in hand.

"Good morning girls," Angella said to both of them.

They both responded with a tired good morning and Angella smiled. "So we just got a call. Adora, your social worker is doing a visit today."

Adora groaned through her mouthful of cereal before swallowing. "When?"

"He should be here tonight and I've invited him to have dinner with us while he's visiting."

Adora nodded. "Yeah that's...okay. Not like we can opt out, I guess."

"I can always reschedule if it's not a good time for you. He'll understand I'm sure."

"No that's fine. Better to get it over with."

Glimmer eyed her foster sister carefully.

"Alright. Then Glimmer, you know the drill. Make sure the house is clean and that you have actual clothes on."

"Define _actual _clothes," Glimmer requested.

"Not pajamas. Something clean."

"Okay," Glimmer said disappointedly.

"And I might get off work early and get back here to start dinner and tidy some things up." Angella walked over to Adora and rubbed her shoulder supportively. "We'll knock it out real quick and he'll be gone in a few hours."

Adora nodded in response.

"Alright I'm heading out. You girls have a good day at school!"

"We won't!" Glimmer yelled to her as she walked towards the front door.

The girls said goodbye to her as she left and then it was just them in the kitchen.

"Hey," Glimmer said to Adora, who was sitting across from her. "Why do you hate the social worker visiting so much?"

Adora winced. "Well I...I don't really wanna talk about it."

"Oh. That makes sense," Glimmer said quickly. "I didn't mean to, like, make you uncomfortable. Sorry."

"No it's fine," Adora said waving one hand dismissively and rubbing her eyes with the other. "I just don't like it. But I'm glad you guys are here with me."

"Well I am too," Glimmer said. "I just wish I didn't have to wear _actual_ clothes."

Adora laughed and just about spat out her cereal in the process.

"Oh!" Glimmer said, slamming her arms down on the countertop. "I meant to ask you about Mermista!"

"What about?"

"Every single thing," Glimmer said, scooting forward. "What does she like? What does she not like? What _exactly_ is it about my hair that she finds appealing?"

Adora smiled and exhaled. "Look, I don't think you should look into it too much. She seems all cool on the surface, but inside...well...I mean she actually is pretty cool all around. But she's also really sweet and down to earth."

"Sweet and down to earth," Glimmer repeated. "Should I...write this down?"

"No. Wow. Glimmer, just be yourself and she'll love it. You'll have a great night."

"Okay...I guess being myself is something I'm pretty good at. Cuz it's me."

"Exactly," Adora said with a chuckle. "I even asked her about it the other day and she said she was super excited."

"She did?" Glimmer asked incredulously.

"She really did," Adora assured. "She's just a normal girl and she's really looking forward to spending some time with you."

"A normal girl?" Glimmer asked, doubt on her face. "Well I don't know about that, but thanks for the info. I'm just gonna not stress about it."

"Good."

"Not one bit."

"Perfect."

The girls finished up their cereal and then Glimmer cleared her throat. "But what does she like about my hair though?"

* * *

Adora had some extra time before classes now that she didn't have to meet with Madame Razz anymore. So with her newfound freedom she decided to try and pay Frosta a visit.

If anything, Adora just wanted to make sure that the girl wasn't at risk of being attacked for what seemed like the fiftieth time in the last few weeks.

Frosta wasn't at her locker, but as Adora carried on towards the cafeteria, she saw Frosta sitting at a table. And across from her was a familiar looking girl. It took Adora a moment, but then she realized that it was Holly, the girl who Frosta had been fighting with before Adora had tried to make a negotiation between the two.

Adora hoped that they were just having a friendly chat, but she prepared to break up another fight as she walked over to the table and sat down.

"Hey," she said, looking from one to the other.

"Good morning, Adora," Frosta said happily.

Holly just nodded in Adora's direction.

Adora looked at the table and saw that there were school papers spread out. "Are you two helping each other with homework?"

"Yup," Frosta said. "Believe it or not this whole agreement is working out pretty well. Not that I'm happy you signed me up for it against my will, but still."

"Yeah it kinda sucks cuz I have to actually _do_ the homework now," Holly said. "But my grades are going up again and I'm starting to understand the stuff we're covering. So, like, thanks I guess."

Adora was surprised and more than a little proud of her work. "Well I was just trying to help. And it looks like you two are getting along!"

"Yeah…" Frosta said begrudgingly. "She's, uh, she's not _as_ awful as I originally thought she was."

Holly shot her a look and Frosta rolled her eyes. "Okay it turns out she's...pretty cool."

Holly seemed to like this description better. "And hanging out with Frosta hasn't been as bad as I thought either. And she's basically a genius."

"I hate the word genius, you know I hate that," Frosta said quickly. "You skip a few grades and next thing you know people are calling you the next Einstein."

"Oh yeah sorry," Holly said. "I'll just call you smart then?"

"Well…" Frosta thought for a moment. "That isn't special _enough_. Maybe, like, gifted? That's a good middle ground."

Adora snorted. "Well I'm glad you two are doing alright. I just wanted to check in."

"Is that a thing you do now?" Frosta asked. "Check in on me?"

Adora shrugged. "Hey man, the last few times I've seen you, I've been a stand-in barricade."

"I was simply taking advantage of your clearly superior body! I'm still working on the whole growth spurt thing," Frosta said, holding up her own bicep for inspection.

Holly laughed at Frosta's small arm and Frosta shot her a vengeful glare.

"Well if you ever wanna join weights, I could teach you some things. If I can get Catra to lift then I should have no problem with you."

Frosta thought about this. "I might be able to fit that in next semester. Hmm. How is Catara anyway?"

"Catra," Adora corrected politely.

"That's what I said."

"Suure," Adora agreed unconvincingly. "She's doing good."

"Have you guys...like... y'know...kissed and stuff yet?"

"Oh my god," Adora said, laughing and putting a hand in front of her face.

"Is Catara your girlfriend?" Holly asked.

"Catra. And no. I mean she will be...but we're not just yet." Adora wondered why she was letting two underclassmen grill her about her love life.

"Well you should get on that!" Frosta insisted, poking at Adora's arm. "It's been like twenty years!"

"It has _not_ been that long. We just had a roundabout way of getting there. And then there was a big thing with our friends and it's just been busy. But we're going to the dance on Friday."

"Oh yeah," Frosta said, looking down at her notes on the table and poking at them. "That sounds fun."

Adora studied her. "Are you going?"

"Meh. Probably not. I mean all my friends are still in middle school and they can't go so…"

"Well that shouldn't stop you," Adora encouraged her friend. "It's your first high school dance! And I'll be there."

Frosta made a face. "No you and your girlfriend will be too busy kissing the whole time to notice me."

Adora shook her head and sighed.

"Well I'll be there with some of my friends," Holly piped up. "You should come and hang out with us."

Frosta looked hopeful for a split second before it faded. "I don't know any of your friends."

"Well...yeah, but you know me."

"I do. I mean I did drop kick you so I'd say we know each other pretty well."

"Yeah my leg just stopped hurting last weekend," Holly said ruefully. "But you seem pretty cool now that we aren't trying to kill each other. So no pressure, but if you do wanna go I'll hang out with you all night."

The hopeful glint flashed across Frosta's face again and she tried to hide her excitement from the others at the table. "I mean sure. Yeah sounds...cool."

"Well that's great!" Adora said, glad that things were going so well between the two girls. "I'll see you both there!"

"Yeah see you there," Frosta said. "If you're not too busy making ou…"

"Aand I'm leaving," Adora said quickly, getting up from the table and walking away.

* * *

Catra was going through her gym locker before weights. She found a sock hiding in the back and pulled it out. She examined it and then slowly brought it up to her nose for a sniff check. She recoiled immediately and threw it back into her locker.

She was reorganizing her things when she felt hands wrap around the back of her head and cover her eyes. She recognized the comforting smell of Adora before she even heard her speak.

"Oh I wonder who this could be?" Catra mused.

She heard Adora laugh behind her. "Well you're allowed to know it's me, I just don't want you to see what I got you yet! Keep your eyes closed!" Adora slid her hands off of Catra's eyes.

"A gift? What did I do to deserve this?" Catra asked, covering her eyes and resisting the urge to peek.

"A lot of things," Adora said. "Hold out your hands."

Catra opened her palms and felt Adora place something small but surprisingly dense in her hands.

"Now open."

Catra opened her eyes and saw what looked to be a little ceramic fish in her hands. It was glazed a shiny orange and white to look like a koi fish.

"It's not much," Adora said quickly. "We were just doing ceramic test pieces in my art class the other day and I was thinking of you and I made a little fish buddy."

Catra held it up and looked at the bulbous black eyes on the clay fish. Then she looked up at Adora. "I love it."

"I'm glad you like it. I just think it's cute how much you like fish."

"They get me," Catra said, not even able to take herself seriously as she said it. She cracked a smile and swiveled around on the bench to face Adora. "Thank you for the little buddy. I'll put him in my fish tank for decoration."

"That's a great idea," Adora said as Catra tenderly wrapped the fish in a workout shirt of hers and placed it in her locker for safekeeping. "You all stretched up yet? I'm gonna go real hard today."

"Real hard, huh? You doing alright?"

"Yeah why?"

"You just go harder when you're stressed. We both know it. When Glimmer wasn't talking to you, you just about passed out everyday. It was scary."

"Well, it's not a huge deal or anything," Adora started.

"_There_ it is," Catra said with satisfaction. "Sit."

Adora sat down on the bench and Catra put a hand on her knee.

"Well it's not a big thing but my social worker is coming over tonight and I just...hate when that happens."

"Oh yeah," Catra said, recalling Adora complaining about it before. "Why do you hate it so much?"

"Well it's like…" Adora gesticulated strangely with her hands as she tried to think of words to describe it. "...I don't know. You wouldn't get it."

"You're probably right," Catra admitted. "But I know that whatever it is you'll be able to handle it."

"Yeah I will," Adora agreed. "It isn't, like, the end of the world or anything. Just makes me uncomfortable. Been trying to shake the feeling all day."

"Well I'm sorry," Catra said sympathetically. "Anything I can do to help?"

"Just keep my mind off it."

"Easy enough. You heard about Bow and Scorpia going to the dance right?"

"Oh yeah! That's super cool! I mean after their whole adventure on Monday it seems like they've been getting along pretty well."

"Yeah it's incredibly weird. I mean, good. But, like, weird too."

"I love how this has been going. With our friend groups? I mean sure there's still some weirder parts but our friends are actually getting along for the most part!"

"True. I'm a little surprised at how it's gone honestly," Catra said thoughtfully. "But I guess I'm glad too. Makes it easier for us to hang out now that everyone knows."

"And that's what I wanted," Adora insisted.

Catra smiled at Adora. "Well I'll let you change."

"Yeah. See you in there," Adora replied as she stretched out her arms and walked over to her own locker.

When Catra went out into the weights room she saw that it wasn't set up how it normally was. There was now a small table and two fold out chairs on either end of it sitting in the middle of the room.

Catra spotted Scorpia leaning up against a bench press and headed over to her, hands wedged into the pockets of her baggy gym shorts. "Howdy stranger," Catra said as she sat down on the seat of the bench.

"Oh hey, Catra," Scorpia greeted her.

"What's with the table?" Catra asked, gesturing at the setup in the middle.

"I'm pretty sure I know, but Ms. Huntara hasn't announced it yet."

"Oh fun," Catra said, not enthused. "I'd much rather just not do anything today."

Scorpia chuckled. "You say that, like, every day."

"Well yeah, but _especially_ today."

Adora walked in and took a seat beside Catra on the bench. "Hey, Scorpia."

"Hey," Scorpia said, rubbing at her arm and avoiding eye contact with the pair.

Catra could tell that Scorpia acted differently when Adora was around. It had been like this every time they had been together. She wasn't mean or anything, but she wasn't herself either.

Catra knew the girl was just upset about them being together. Or jealous. Or just uncomfortable. Catra wasn't sure exactly, but she did know that she missed how it used to be between her and Scorpia.

Nowadays, Scorpia spent more time with Glimmer than anybody else. And she probably even talked to Bow more than she did to Catra.

Catra had been trying to just give her space as she had asked, but so far it just seemed like Scorpia was getting farther and farther away.

"Hey you little carnivore," Catra heard as she was yanked out of her thoughts by Adora, who was gently tugging at her hand to keep her from biting her nails.

Catra hadn't realized that she had even been biting them. She also hadn't realized Ms. Huntara entering the room and walking to the middle where she now stood.

"Alrighty everyone," she said, addressing the class in her usual gruff voice. "You've all been working real hard. I figure today we'll have a little break of sorts. If any of you have taken weights before then you know it's time for…" She hoisted up a whiteboard that had been resting beside the table and flipped it over, displaying a big bracket drawn on the surface. "The 6th Annual Arm Wrestling Tournament!"

The class clapped and Scorpia whooped.

Ms. Huntara gestured to Scorpia. "For those of you who aren't aware, we have our previous year's champion right here. Scorpia!"

Ms. Huntara clapped loudly and the rest of the class followed suit. Scorpia bashfully accepted the praise.

The teacher then grinned widely and surveyed the classroom, hands on her hips. "While arm wrestling is in no way indicative of your progress in this class...it's fun! So I'm gonna randomly put all of your names down on this bracket and we'll see who becomes the champion!"

The students began to excitedly prepare as some began stretching their arms.

Scorpia began to do her own warmups. Catra looked over to her.

"I didn't know you were the arm wrestling champion."

"Well you weren't in weights last year," Scorpia explained. "It is one of the highest honors of my life."

Catra couldn't tell if she was joking or if she was dead serious.

"Yeah I would not wanna go up against you," Adora said impressively.

"Well we'll see how the tournament goes I guess," Scorpia responded.

Catra looked at Scorpia's arms and then at Adora's and then at her own. "Well...can I just forfeit now?"

"Hey now," Adora said supportively. "There's some people in this class you could totally beat!"

"Yeah maybe one. Two max," Catra stated as she looked around the room.

"Well if we were doing a race or something you'd probably have everyone in this room beat," Scorpia pointed out and Adora nodded in agreement.

Catra shrugged. "Maybe. But this is weights class not...running class."

"Well regardless, you better start stretching," Adora warned. "You don't wanna pull something when you're in the middle of losing."

Catra gasped at the jab and Adora snickered evilly.

Scorpia turned away from the pair and wondered if it would be better for her to move somewhere else further away from them.

But before she could decide, Ms. Huntara had written up the names and called for the first match. The three girls watched a few matches before it was their turn.

Adora had her first match against a guy who she had never talked to before. He was definitely toned and he carried himself confidently up to the table, a cocky grin on his face as he took his seat.

Adora got up slowly, nervous that everyone was looking at her.

Catra squeezed her hand. "Good luck. Crush his stupid arm."

Adora smiled at her and walked up to the table. She took her seat and put her arm on the table.

The boy across from her sneered at her and put his arm up as well.

They locked hands in the middle and braced themselves as they waited for the command to begin.

Ms. Huntara let the suspense hang for a moment before yelling 'Go!'.

Adora and the other kid immediately pushed against each other. The boy, who had seemed nothing but confident just seconds before, suddenly seemed worried as he met the force of Adora's arm. He frowned as he tried to push harder against Adora and found himself unable to budge her from the center.

Adora would normally have enjoyed the now troubled look on the boy's face, but she was too busy focusing on the match to care. She waited for him to finish struggling before she began her own assault. She shoved back against his arm and watched in satisfaction as his arm began to fold.

"Whoo! Go Adora! Destroy him!" Catra yelled, jumping up from her seat excitedly.

"No yelling!" Ms. Huntara yelled and Catra sat back down. But she continued to watch intently.

Adora kept pushing. She could feel him struggling against her and her arm burned with that familiar feeling, but it wasn't enough to stop her from pushing on. She watched as she lowered his hand back further and further until eventually…smack!

Ms. Huntara blew a whistle she had looped around her neck. "And the win goes to Adora!"

Adora smiled in relief as she sat back in her chair. The boy across from her slipped his arm back and shot Adora a hateful glare that she ignored entirely.

Adora got up from the table and walked back over to her spot where Catra was practically vibrating.

"I've changed my mind," she said quickly, her eyes wide. "This is awesome. I love arm wrestling. You were destroying his whole mind with your muscles! Ah!"

Adora giggled and sat down next to Catra, wrapping her now tired arm around Catra. Catra stared at the arm and got a little flustered before she regained her composure.

"Yeah good win, Adora," Scorpia added as she stretched her own right arm behind her back.

"Thanks guys. You're next aren't you Scorpia?"

"Yup," she said just a few moments before her name was called and she walked up to the table. Her opponent was another boy who was definitely strong, but compared to Scorpia he looked like he didn't stand a chance.

The defeat was already plain on his face as he put his arm on the table and they readied for the command.

"Go!"

Smack!

Scorpia slammed her opponent's hand into the table in less than a second and the room erupted into cheers despite Ms. Huntara trying to calm everyone down.

The boy who had lost looked disappointed and Scorpia felt bad. "Hey I'm sorry. You're really strong! I just go to the gym a lot."

The boy smiled and thanked her for being such a good sport before leaving the table. Scorpia walked back over to join Catra and Adora, who were watching her with wide eyes.

"Wow," Adora said bluntly. "That was awesome."

"Yeah that wasn't even a competition!" Catra congratulated her friend.

"It felt good," Scorpia said. "But we'll see. I have tough competition this year."

They watched another round and then it was time for Catra to go.

Catra watched as her opponent walked to the table. A girl who was definitely a senior and was much bigger than Catra.

"Well…I quit," Catra huffed.

"Hey. You can do this," Adora said encouragingly.

Catra shot her a prying look and Adora broke.

"Okay fine, maybe you can't. But you can put up a good fight! You've made serious improvement since we started training together!"

"Yeah, Cat. Give it your best," Scorpia agreed.

"My best is very little," Catra mumbled under her breath as she stood up and sat down at the table. She looked at her opponent and nodded to her.

The girl nodded back and the two prepped their arms in the middle.

Ms. Huntara raised her hands and then dropped them. "Go!"

Catra pushed with all of her might, expecting an immediate loss, but after a few seconds passed she realized that her hand hadn't hit the table yet. Sure her arm was losing ground steadily and was shaking as she exerted herself, but she hadn't lost yet.

"Woah," Catra said through gritted teeth.

"Go Catra!" Adora yelled from her spot, throwing her fists up into the air. Scorpia clapped a few times in accompaniment. Ms. Huntara shot them both a look and Adora clammed up. She had never spoken out in a class like that before, but she had been so proud of Catra that she couldn't help it.

Catra was straining against the force of the older girl's arm and could tell that she was a goner. The harder she pushed, the more her arm felt like it was gonna fall off. But she did manage to slow the girl considerably.

When Catra's hand finally was pushed into the table, she exhaled and the whistle was blown. She shook her tired arm out.

"Good game," the senior girl said, and upon inspection, she actually looked a little impressed.

"And to you," Catra said, more out of breath. She left the table and Adora was already behind her.

"Oh my gosh you did so great!" She said, slapping at Catra's arm. "Do you think you could have held her off like that before we started working out together?"

Catra thought about the question and answered sincerely. "Y'know, I would've been decimated before. I guess your workouts are good for something after all."

"I have waited so long to hear those words," Adora said proudly, biting at her clenched fist.

"Well that's the only time you'll hear it," Catra said with a tired smile as she plopped back down into her seat.

Catra expected to hear a congratulations from Scorpia, but as she turned to look around, she saw that Scorpia wasn't there.

"Where'd Scorpia go?"

"Oh I'm not sure," Adora said. "I think the bathroom. She left right after your match."

Catra put it out of her mind and watched a few more matches, glad that she was out of the running.

Scorpia came back just a few moments before her next match. Her opponent was another senior. He looked to have about as much muscle mass as Adora and Scorpia definitely struggled a bit at the beginning of the match.

Ultimately, however, it was still no contest as Scorpia refused to back down and beat her second opponent. She was beginning to feel her arm growing tired but she still had a lot of energy left in her.

Adora went immediately after and won her match as well. It was getting progressively harder as her arm wore down more and more, but she hadn't had too hard of a time.

Adora eyed the bracket and realized she was getting farther than anticipated.

Catra showered her with praise as she returned to their spot and Adora felt proud of herself. This was a good way to get her mind off of the social worker.

The bracket narrowed more and more as Scorpia won her next match with relative ease. Adora struggled a little with her next match, but won as well.

Then they were in the semifinals. And it was down to Scorpia, Adora, and two other kids who had been doing really well, one of whom was the girl that had eliminated Catra. Scorpia and Adora were on opposite ends of the bracket and realized that they would be fighting for the championship if they won this one.

When it came to be Adora's turn she braced herself as Catra massaged her shoulders like a manager massaging the shoulders of an MMA fighter. "You're gonna go in there and wreck house, you hear me? You're going up against the girl who beat me and she's like impossibly strong. But you're even more impossibly strong. So you'll win."

Adora rolled her eyes endearingly. "Okay we'll see."

"Yeah hopefully you win so we can face off in the final match," Scorpia said. "Good luck."

"Yeah that would be cool," Adora replied. "Good luck with yours."

Adora was called up to the table and she sat across from the senior girl. They wished each other good luck before the match and the second the whistle blew, Adora thought that she would lose.

Where the opponents she had faced before had a hard time moving her, this girl was able to shift Adora downwards much easier. For the first few seconds Adora felt her arm fall back and she thought she was done for.

Adora didn't let up though, and after the initial surprise she pushed back with a slowly mounting strength. The other girl gritted her teeth and grunted as she resisted and their hands made it back to the middle.

Adora closed her eyes for a moment and pushed even harder, feeling her arm ache under the pressure. But as she slowly opened her eyes, she saw that she was quickly forcing her opponent down.

"Yes!" Catra shouted. "Adora!"

Ms. Huntara glared at Catra. "Strike two!"

Adora heard Catra cheering her on and smiled tightly as she had a last surge of power and slammed the girl's hand into the table.

"Alright! And your first finalist is Adora!" The class clapped as Adora wandered back to her seat. A few of her classmates congratulated her on her way back and she wasn't sure how to react to all the attention.

As Catra fawned over Adora, Scorpia had her next match. The other boy was as big as Scorpia and he was one of the kids who focused more on building his arms than anything else.

Scorpia prepared herself as the match began and was instantly surprised as she began to push and found an equal resistance. The match lasted longer than her previous ones and Scorpia was sweating by the end, but when the final whistle was blown, the former champion had won out and made her way to the finals.

Scorpia leaned back in her chair, her right arm dangling at her side. She rolled her neck around as Huntara called up Adora and announced the finalists.

"Let's wait a little bit so her arm can rest up," Adora insisted. "I've been over there resting for a lot longer."

Ms. Huntara began to agree, but Scorpia spoke up. "No, I'm ready now. Let's do this." She hefted her elbow up onto the table and placed it down, hand extended.

Huntara shrugged. "If you say so."

Adora put her arm up on the table as well, clasping hands with Scorpia. The girl's hands were much bigger than hers. In fact, all of Scorpia was bigger than Adora.

Adora was much more nervous than she had been for the other matches. She didn't want to win but she also didn't want to lose. She took her hand back and wiped the sweat off onto her pant leg before grabbing Scorpia's hand again.

Catra shoved through the crowd that had gathered closely and made her way right up to beside the table. She gave both Adora and Scorpia a smile and a nod and then crouched beside them, watching intensely.

Adora peered across at Scorpia. She looked determined. They made eye contact and both nodded at each other.

"And now we'll see who this year's Arm Wrestling Champion is!" Ms. Huntara declared. "Get ready. Get set…...Go!"

Both girls immediately put their all into the match. And both girls were surprised to find that they were balancing each other out. Adora was surprised that she wasn't eliminated yet and Scorpia was surprised at the resistance coming from Adora. Scorpia had seen that she was strong, but to feel it was a different matter. She suddenly wished she had accepted that break.

Adora watched their hands with surprise as she managed to keep Scorpia at bay. Both girls groaned as they pushed against each other, the veins in their arms bulging and sweat accumulating on their brows.

"I love arm wrestling," Catra whispered to herself as she watched the muscular arms continue their heated battle.

Adora was just beginning to think she had a real chance at a win when she felt a new assault from Scorpia. The girl was pushing even harder somehow. Adora let out a gasp as she felt the powerlessness that came with being slowly defeated. She watched her arm drop lower and lower. She grinded her teeth together and tried to will herself to push harder, but her arm just felt like jelly.

Catra shifted, causing Adora to glance at her. Catra was watching their hands, and the closer Adora got to defeat, the more distress showed on Catra's face.

After seeing this, Adora decided to give it one last go. She began to breathe in short bursts as she forced her arm beyond what she thought was currently possible. She heard the cheer from the crowd before she even registered that she was pushing Scorpia back.

Ms. Huntara tried to stop all the cheering but eventually gave up and let the class cheer on the contestants.

And now it was Scorpia's turn to be worried as she watched Adora, who had been so close to defeat, push her arm back from her side all the way back up to the middle.

Then, just as they had been in the beginning, the two were locked in at the middle. A standstill. They were both pushing, but were just equalling each other out.

Scorpia glanced at Adora and saw that she was really going hard. The girl's face was red and she was breathing heavy.

Then Scorpia heard Catra from beside her. She was muttering something excitedly under her breath. Scorpia couldn't make it out, but at that moment she was sure that Catra was cheering on Adora.

Scorpia clenched her fist a little tighter as she thought about her best friend cheering on Adora, who she had only just met this year. Scorpia thought about how if Adora somehow won, how happy Catra would be. How much she would celebrate. But if Scorpia won she would probably just console Adora. And Scorpia would be ignored.

This anger bubbled up in Scorpia and she felt new strength building as she grunted and pushed with all of her might against Adora.

A loud slam sounded and there was a moment of silence before the class exploded into cheers.

Adora stared blankly at her hand as it rested on the table, dumbfounded by the sheer strength Scorpia had. She had put up a good fight, but in the end she hadn't even been able to get Scorpia past the middle.

Scorpia put a hand to her forehead and breathed deeply, glad that it was over.

Ms. Huntara raised one of Scorpia's arms. "And your reigning champion is... Scorpia!"

Everyone clapped and cheered again and Scorpia looked surprised as she saw Catra smiling and clapping as well.

"That was so awesome you guys," Catra said to both of them. "I mean there was so much raw power! I thought you were gonna explode!"

"I did too," Adora said, recovering slowly. She looked up at Scorpia. "That was a good game, champ." She extended a shaky right arm across the table.

Scorpia was surprised at the support she had gotten from Catra and Adora. She had almost expected them to be mad at her and now they were congratulating her with the rest of the class.

Scorpia stuck out her own right arm and they shook.

* * *

The social worker pulled up to Adora's foster home several minutes early and parked on the curb. He grabbed his folder that was sitting in the passenger seat and leafed through Adora's information again. He had talked to Adora several times before and had personally visited the home and met with Angella and her daughter a few times prior to this, but he wanted to make sure he was prepared.

He stepped out of his car and walked up to the house. It was very large and well kept and was in a nice part of town. Not that there were really any bad parts of town in Etheria.

He stepped up onto the front porch and rang the doorbell. From inside he heard the faint sound of footsteps and then the door opened.

He saw a girl who he recognized as Adora's new foster sister, Glimmer. She was dressed nicely but it was clear that she had just recently gotten out of the shower and her pink hair was damp and sagging.

"Uh. Welcome to our home," Glimmer said semi-convincingly and ushered him inside.

He smiled and stepped inside. "Hello, Glimmer. How are you?"

"I'm well adapted and I love my foster sister," she answered immediately.

The social worker chuckled. "You know, we haven't started the interview yet. We can talk about all that after dinner."

"Oh I thought it was, like, a right off the bat thing," Glimmer responded, brushing her hair out of her face. "Adora really is great though."

"Well that's good to hear," he replied, looking around the house but not going any further inside. The place was very neat and organized and there was a wonderful smell coming from the kitchen.

Angella hurried out of the kitchen just then and greeted him. "Nice to see you again, Warren. Sorry, I meant to get the door but Adora and I were finishing up dinner when you got here."

"Oh that's entirely alright," he replied politely. "The place looks wonderful and thanks again for inviting me to dinner."

"Well of course," Angella responded.

"And your daughter has already been a great host," Warren said.

Glimmer beamed up at her mother and she chuckled. "Well I'm pleasantly surprised. We're almost done setting the table if you want to take a seat in the living room."

"Sounds great. Thanks again," Warren said as he walked over and took a seat on the couch.

"And you go dry your hair," Angella told Glimmer.

"I was gonna but the doorbell rang!" Glimmer whined before scrambling up the steps to her bathroom.

Angella walked back into the kitchen where Adora was setting plates onto the table.

"Warren is here," Angella told her.

Adora nodded and scratched at the back of her arm. "Yeah. I, uh, heard the doorbell."

Angella walked around to Adora and took the pile of plates from her hands. "You sit. You haven't taken a break since you got home."

Adora regretfully obliged and took a seat at the table. Her foot began tapping on the floor rhythmically.

"Are you alright, dear?" Angella asked. "I know these things have a habit of stressing you out."

"Yeah I'm...a little anxious I guess," Adora answered. "But it's just dinner and some short talks and then it'll be over."

"Exactly," Angella said comfortingly. "And when he's gone we'll do something nice! We can make some cookies and play a game or something. How's that sound?"

"Pretty dang good," Adora admitted as she picked up her fork and wiggled it around.

Angella smiled. "Alright then, it's a plan." She finished setting up the table and clapped her hands together. "All done. Thanks for your help."

"Oh yeah," Adora said. "Do you think I did good enough to cook dinner for Catra on Friday?"

"Oh definitely. You just follow that recipe we found and you'll do great."

Adora nodded to herself. "Awesome. I'll call for you if I burn anything down."

"Please do," Angella laughed.

Glimmer came down the steps just then and walked into the kitchen, her hair freshly blow-dried, causing it to poof outwards like a big fluffy cloud.

"Wow it looks nice in here!" Glimmer exclaimed and then looked over her shoulder towards where the living room was. "I mean...it always looks nice! Cuz we always have a nice dinner as a family!"

"I think you're overselling it just a bit," Adora said with a small smile.

"No such thing," Glimmer replied and she walked around the table to sit next to Adora. As she walked by she poked Adora playfully in the side and Adora recoiled.

"Hey, you," Adora said, leveling her fork at the mischievously smiling girl. "If my social worker wasn't here right now you'd be in trouble."

"Girls, you can beat each other up when he's gone," Angella said softly. "I'm gonna go get him."

Angella left and returned with Warren and he took a seat at the table. "Hey there, Adora. It's been a while since we've talked in person! How have you been?"

"I've been good," Adora answered.

"That's good to hear," Warren replied. He knew that Adora had never been particularly talkative and he didn't want to make her uncomfortable so he complimented the food and talked to Angella some more.

Dinner went well for the most part. Angella and Adora had done really well on the meal and despite a guest being there, it wasn't _too_ awkward. Adora didn't say anything unless she was spoken to. Glimmer cracked a few jokes to keep the conversation light.

A few times while they were eating, Glimmer kicked at Adora's leg under the table to get her attention. When Adora looked at her, Glimmer would just smile and nod.

Adora knew that Glimmer was trying to keep her mind off everything and she was grateful for it. Adora couldn't imagine how bad this all would have been if her and Glimmer were still on bad terms with each other.

The dinner went quickly but it was getting a little late so Angella suggested that her and Warren talk while the girls cleaned up after dinner.

Warren agreed and him and Angella went and talked for a while in the other room.

Glimmer and Adora cleaned up the kitchen and it wasn't too long before Warren and Angella came back out and Warren wanted to talk to one of the girls.

Glimmer volunteered to go first and went and talked to Warren. Adora knew that he was asking them questions about how they were liking living with her. It was something she was used to, but it was still weird to know that she was being discussed and judged by some of the people she was closest with.

Angella and Adora relaxed on the couch for a while before Warren came back again with Glimmer.

Glimmer shot Adora a thumbs up as she joined them in the living room.

Then Warren finally asked to talk to Adora. She agreed and said they could talk up in her room. She had answered these questions before and knew what to expect.

He followed her upstairs and she let him into her room and shut the door behind them.

"This is nice," Warren said as he looked around the room. "It looks like you've settled in! You a Shakira fan?" He gestured to the poster on her wall.

"Not really. But I like the poster," Adora answered.

Warren smiled. "Well I'm glad you've made it your own space."

Adora sat on the bed and he pulled up a chair from her desk and sat down. He crossed one leg over the other and propped his hands up in front of him. "So, Adora. I want to know how things have been going for you. How's school?"

"Good," Adora answered simply.

He opened up his folder and looked at a piece of paper. "It looks like your grades are excellent! Which is great! Usually kids have trouble with school when they're adjusting to a new environment, but you've always been a smart kid."

"Thanks," Adora replied, looking around the room.

"Have you been making any new friends?"

"Uh...yeah actually. A few, yeah."

"That's very good! Then it sounds like school is going rather well. There is...one thing. We didn't get to talk about it over the phone last time as we hadn't received the full report from your school yet, but it does seem that you got in a bit of a fight on school property?"

"Ah. I forgot about that. Yeah there was a small thing."

"If I may, what encouraged you to get in this fight?"

"It was just a bully," Adora answered. She didn't like thinking back to the event. "It was really nothing and my counselor just cleared me."

"Well that's good to hear. Did you have people to talk to about it? Angella maybe?"

"Yeah we talked about it. She helped a lot actually."

"Good, good." He quickly jotted something down in his folder and then continued with his questions.

Adora was used to them. He asked whether she ever felt threatened by any member of her new family. If they had ever abused her in any way. Whether she was happy. How often she was fed. How she was disciplined.

Adora rattled off her answers almost mechanically. She told the truth about everything but didn't expand much. She did, however, make sure to clarify often that she really did love her current home and foster family.

At the end of the interview, Warren set down his folder and seemed satisfied. "Well then it sounds like things are working out rather well for you, Adora. And I'm glad to hear it."

"It's going really well. I like it a lot better than the home and I haven't even been here that long."

"Well it seems like it's a good option for you," Warren said as he leaned forward in his chair. "And it seems that another..._possible_ option is available to you now."

Adora looked up in surprise, her attention piqued now for the first time since the interview had started. "What?"

"Well…I just talked to Angella about this and she agreed to letting me notify you. And she wants to talk to you about it as well, of course. And the decision is u…"

"What is it?" Adora interrupted, standing up from the bed. "Another foster family? Cuz I'm not interested."

"Well...not exactly. See...your aunt and uncle on your father's side reached out to us the other day."

"Wh…" Adora closed her eyes for a moment. Her brain felt fuzzy. She fell back down onto the bed.

"They were...well they were wanting to talk with you. And they wanted to ask if you would be interested in possibly staying with them." Warren watched Adora closely, hoping this wasn't too much for the girl.

Adora ran a hand through her hair and clutched at her scalp.

_"My aunt and uncle…" _The thought echoed around her head.

"I thought…" Adora had to stop herself and take a deep breath. "I thought they didn't want me?"

Warren sighed. "Well at the time they...they weren't...ready to take care of a child. But things change. And, of course, they aren't qualified for fostering or adoption yet and they would have to go through the proper channels and g…"

"No. I don't want that," Adora said, louder than she had intended.

"Well it is entirely up to you, Adora," Warren assured her. "I'll leave it to you to make contact with them and discuss wh…"

"I'm not doing that," Adora said firmly. She was breathing heavy now and she could feel sweat under her arms. "Tell them I'm not interested."

"I... I certainly can," Warren said. "Are you alright, Adora? I realize this is a lot to take in."

Adora gripped at her chest and nodded. "Yeah I'm fine. Can you give me some space?"

"Of course," he said as he stood up and put his chair back. "I'll give you some time to process things. Would you like me to send Angella up or…?"

"No," Adora said firmly. "I just want to be alone."

"Of course," Warren said. He opened his mouth to say something and then closed it again, looking at Adora with great concern. He then turned and closed the door slowly.

The second the door closed, Adora shot up out of bed and began to pace. Her mind was going a hundred miles an hour and she needed to burn off some energy.

She walked around her room quickly before she felt another pang of pain in her chest, right where her heart was, followed by a wave of nausea. She knew then what was happening.

She rushed back to her bed and quickly formed a cross-legged position. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on her breathing, as she had been practicing.

But it wasn't as easy this time. She could only hear her heartbeat going crazy in her ears and the sound of her head pounding. It felt like she was drenched in sweat at this point and it was causing her shirt to stick to her claustrophobically.

And in the forefront of her mind, all she could think about was her aunt and her uncle.

_"They haven't been in my life for years and now they decide to reach out."_

Adora clutched at her chest again and winced at the mounting pressure she felt. It wasn't working. The breathing wasn't working.

She heard a knock at the door. "Adora, are you alright in there?" It was Angella.

"I'm fine!" Adora yelled, hoping it was convincing enough to get Angella to leave her alone. "I'll be out later!"

Adora suddenly gasped and took in air sharply as breathing became more difficult. Tears formed in her eyes and she gritted her teeth together roughly. She bit into her bottom lip on accident and immediately tasted blood.

She squeezed her eyes shut and hot tears streamed down her cheeks. She squeezed her knees up against her and tried to breathe normally as her brain continued to panic uncontrollably.

Adora couldn't breathe. She clawed at her throat and gulped down spit as she tried not to throw up. She backed up and threw herself up against the wall behind her. She twisted and shoved her balled up fist against the wall. She felt the pain in her knuckles and it felt good. Grounding. She pulled her fist back and slammed it into the wall again. And then again.

On the third punch, Adora felt the wall give and her fist extended into a space beyond the wall. Adora gasped and pulled her hand back. She rubbed the tears from her eyes and looked at the wall with blurred vision.

There was a huge, fist-sized hole in the wall. Adora looked down at her hand and saw that it was coated in a powdery substance. There was blood on her knuckles. The shock of this snapped Adora out of her panic attack and she stared dumbfoundedly at the hole in the wall.

"Why did I do this…" Adora whispered. She wiped at her fist and smeared the blood over her hand. Adora traced the hole in the wall with her finger. She felt suddenly very tired as she stared at her wall.

She had experienced panic attacks before, but it had been a while since she had one this bad. Usually she could stop them before they got out of control. But not this time.

Adora took a deep breath and looked around her. Her blankets were scattered across the floor of her room. She listened and didn't hear anyone at the door. She hoped nobody had heard the wall.

She turned back to the hole, wondering how she was going to tell Angella about it. How was she supposed to tell her that she freaked out and punched a hole in her own wall. Angella would think she was crazy. She'd have to go back to counseling probably. Or anger management.

Adora thought of all this and instantly decided that she couldn't tell Angella. At least not yet.

Adora hobbled over to her desk and grabbed the painting she had done of a stormy ocean coastline. She hastily slapped some mounting tape on the back of the canvas and crawled back onto her bed. She put the painting up over the hole and stepped back from the bed.

It looked awkward and out of place where she had placed it, but it at least obscured the hole entirely. Adora took a deep breath and stumbled into bed. She laid there for a while and made sure that she was feeling alright again. She could still feel a resting anxiety seizing her chest, but the worst of it was definitely over.

After a while, she looked at her phone and saw that Glimmer had texted her a few times.

'Hey the guy is gone. You wanna watch a movie?'

'I made popcorn. I drowned it in butter like you like.'

'You okay?'

Adora stared at her phone screen for a while before typing, 'I'm okay. Just tired. I'm gonna go to bed.'

Adora then tabbed over to Catra's name and thought about talking to her. Her thumb hovered over the call button for a few seconds before she shut off her phone screen and laid back in her bed again.

She looked at her painting as she tried to process everything that had happened. She laid like that for a while before turning off her lamp.

Adora tossed and turned and it took hours before she was finally able to enter a restless sleep.

_**Well that's a little heavy for a chapter ending, but hopefully nobodies spirits are too low. It'll get better I promise :)**_

_**I hope everyone reading is healthy and safe. And also that they're coping alright after having finished the show! I mean, c'mon! Season 5 was so good! Catradora canon! I didn't think that would happen at all and it totally did! I was just a constant stream of tears for like the whole season. And it was super good. And this story is a great way for me to continue the characters in my own little way.**_

_**And also someone asked this in comments so I'd like to officially point out that I actually did come up with the idea for Catra to cut her hair short before Season 5 came out. I didn't see any spoilers. It must have been a crazy coincidence but it was really cool to see it happen in the show too :)**_

_**So anyway, thank you all for reading and commenting and I hope you're all happy. Thanks and bye for now!**_


	34. Chapter 34

It was Friday and Adora was trying to put everything with her aunt and uncle and the hole in the wall behind her. The sooner she could forget, the better.

She had talked to Angella about everything Thursday morning before school. Adora had been feeling much more stable and had been able to tell Angella that she didn't want to reach out to her extended biological family.

Angella could tell Adora had her reasons and she didn't want to question the girl so she agreed. But this didn't mean that she wasn't worried about Adora. She immediately asked if Adora was doing alright.

Adora hadn't told her about her panic attack or the wall, even when Angella had asked about a loud sound from her room the night before. She told her foster mother that she was a little stressed but overall doing alright.

Immediately after Angella had finished talking to her, Glimmer had grilled her on the matter. Adora had told her about her aunt and uncle attempting to become a part of her life again and said she didn't want to talk about it more than that.

Glimmer pouted but didn't push Adora's boundaries. Adora could tell that she was deathly curious though.

She hadn't even explained everything to Catra. Not yet at least. If there was one person that Adora could see herself opening up to about it, it was her. But now wasn't the time. Not with the dance Friday night.

So Adora had told her the same thing she had told Angella and Glimmer. She didn't expand on why she had turned down talking with them and made it clear that she didn't want to discuss it. Catra had understood and didn't pry. But she had been extra nice to Adora all day.

And now it was Friday. The day of the Fall Formal. A day that Adora had been excitedly awaiting since Catra had asked her. And she wasn't about to let family drama of all things get in the way.

It was her day. Her and _Catra's_ day. Adora just wanted to spoil the heck out of Catra and really make her feel special.

And Adora wanted more from the night too. The tension between her and Catra had risen to a near unbearable point in the last few weeks. The flirting and the touching and everything between them had been so charged lately. And now, Adora was ready to let Catra know how she felt. Finally.

Adora's heart pounded every time she thought about it. Not a troubled, anxious heartbeat, but a light and excited one.

Adora had a plan for the night. And she was ready to put it into action.

But it would have to wait for at least the rest of the school day. And right now she was in the last place she wanted to be. In history class. With Lonnie. About to present their project.

Adora clapped nervously from her desk as another group finished their presentation and walked back to their seats.

"That wasn't as good as ours," Lonnie whispered over to Adora.

"Yeah," Adora responded absentmindedly.

Lonnie shot a look over at her partner, immediately seeing that she was nervous about presenting. Lonnie snorted and turned back to face the front of the class.

Another group presented and Adora's nerves only heightened as she watched them speak in front of the class. Public speaking was pretty high up there in her list of worst fears along with being eaten alive by dogs and drowning. And right now, Adora was pretty sure she'd rather take her chances with the dogs.

When Adora and Lonnie were called to present, Adora tensed up and then slowly got up and walked to the front of the class. Lonnie followed, her hands in her pockets.

While the teacher was getting the presentation ready, Lonnie looked over to Adora.

"Are you freaking out?" She muttered to the girl.

Adora looked at Lonnie and winced. "I hate this stuff."

Lonnie grunted. "Well we both have to talk."

"I know," Adora said worriedly.

"Well don't ruin our whole pr…" Lonnie stopped herself and closed her eyes for a moment before changing tones. "I'll start out the slides. You can come in on the second one and we'll switch off. That way you'll only be covering all the slides that you researched. Easy."

"Easy," Adora repeated.

The projector displayed their title slide on the whiteboard at the front of the class and the teacher signaled for them to begin. All of the eyes in the class were suddenly glued to Adora and Lonnie.

Adora gulped as Lonnie began. She introduced the project and started into a brief history of Egypt. Adora barely heard what Lonnie was saying as she was so caught up in anxiously awaiting her turn to speak.

She was so nervous that she missed the transition over to the next slide and was only alerted to this when Lonnie turned to look at her. The whole class did as well.

Adora's eyes widened and she looked at the board. She had written the slide herself and knew every fact on it by heart. But right now her own words looked like an alien language up on the screen.

"Uh...um…" she stuttered helplessly as she tried to remember her talking points for this slide. "Uh…" Her eyes darted all over the board and she froze. She could already feel the embarrassment setting in.

"Oh shoot," Lonnie said suddenly from beside her. "I was supposed to read this slide. Whoops."

This snapped Adora out of her fear and she looked to Lonnie, who turned towards the board and began to read off of the slide. And it wasn't even Lonnie's slide to read.

Adora grappled with the fact that Lonnie, of all people, had just covered for her. She didn't even know what to say for this slide, but she was doing a good job of improvising and Adora was a strange mix of wary and thankful.

Lonnie finished the slide without messing up too much and clicked over to the next slide. Adora took in a deep breath, realizing she had to step up, and spoke.

She hadn't written this slide, but she had gone over all of the research just in case and knew what to say. She hated the sound of her own voice and she stumbled a few times, but it went better than she had thought and after that, her and Lonnie were able to switch off every slide with no issue.

At the end of the presentation they made their way back to their seats as the class clapped obligatorily. Adora wiped some sweat from her brow and collapsed into her chair.

The teacher signaled that they were done for the day and began to take down the projector while the students collected their things before the bell rang.

Lonnie settled in next to Adora and chuckled. "Y'know for someone so big you're kinda little inside."

Adora shot her an angry look and Lonnie frowned.

"No I didn't mean like…" Lonnie paused. "I didn't mean to be mean about it. I just meant it's funny that you're scared of presentations of all things."

"Yeah well I don't like the attention," Adora explained. "So...thanks for helping me out and stuff…"

"I mean, no problem. You don't have to make a big deal about it," Lonnie said, rubbing at her arm.

The girls collected their things and waited awkwardly for the bell.

"So…" Adora said. "You going to the dance tonight?"

Lonnie scoffed. "Nah I hate those things. Mr. Hawk DJ's and he literally has country songs in his playlist. Country songs."

"Ouch," Adora sympathized.

"Are you going?" Lonnie asked.

"Yeah I am."

"With Catra?"

Adora paused before nodding. "Yeah with Catra."

Lonnie nodded and Adora could've sworn she saw her smiling a little bit.

The bell rang and the girls shouldered their bags.

"Well have fun," Lonnie said. "Watching Catra try to dance is probably the funniest thing I've ever seen so you're in for a treat."

Adora laughed genuinely at this. "That does sound fun. See you, Lonnie."

"Yeah see you around," Lonnie said as she left the room.

* * *

Adora found Mermista waiting at her locker when she got there. Adora greeted her and Mermista walked up to her.

"Hey, Adora. What's up?"

"Oh nothing much. Excited for the dance tonight."

"Heh. Yeah. The dance," Mermista said awkwardly, smiling strangely.

"Are you...okay?" Adora asked, not used to seeing Mermista like this.

"What? Me?" Mermista asked quickly. "Yeah I'm fine. I'm totally cool."

"Okay," Adora said doubtfully.

"I do have, like, one little question though," Mermista said, pulling out her phone.

"What's wrong?" Adora asked, wondering what could've gotten Mermista acting so strangely.

"Well…it's about Glimmer or whatever," Mermista said as she held the phone up to Adora's face. "The other night I asked if she, like, wanted to get dinner before the dance and she said this."

Adora read the screen and saw Glimmer's response that read, 'Sure. Whatever.'

Adora would've laughed if Mermista didn't seem so worried.

"What does that even mean?" Mermista asked, concern on her face. "Like, does she wanna get dinner or not?"

Adora shook her head, unable to keep a smile from her face. "No, no. This is probably a little bit my fault. Glimmer was stressing last night about how to respond to you and she asked me what to do and I told her to just be cool. And...she might have taken that a little too seriously."

"Oh," Mermista said, registering the information as she leaned back against the lockers behind her. "Oh cool. So she's, like, not uninterested?"

"Mermista," Adora said with a grin, clapping Mermista on the shoulder. "She's about as interested as humanly possible."

"Oh good," Mermista said with a sigh.

"Mermista...are you... nervous?" Adora asked with a creeping smile.

"I…" Mermista stalled. "No. I'm just, like, attentive or whatever."

"Sounds to me like you're losing your cool," Adora said with raised eyebrows.

Mermista eyed Adora and leveled a finger at the girl. "I don't lose my cool. I just want everything to go well tonight. For, like, her, y'know?"

"Well that's adorable."

"It's not adorable," Mermista said, looking at the people around them self-consciously. "And I'm not nervous! And don't tell her about this!"

Adora laughed and mimed zipping a zipper over her lips. "You know, you don't have to worry. You could show up and tell Glimmer she's pretty and that would literally make her whole night. And just a tip, she _loves _that fancy Chinese restaurant on Central."

"Oh awesome," Mermista said, making a hurried note of this on her phone. Then she clapped a hand onto Adora's shoulder. "Thanks man. Excited to see you at the dance tonight. But, uh, forget this conversation happened."

"What conversation?" Adora asked.

Mermista smiled. "That's what I'm talking about. See you, bro." She fist bumped Adora and left.

* * *

"Adora! Adora, Adora, Adora, Adora!" Glimmer yelled as she ran up and tugged on the girl's jacket sleeve as she stood in the lunch line.

"It worked! I was super cool and texted Mermista in her own cool language and now she wants to go to Dynasty Grille! That's, like, my favorite restaurant!" Glimmer was practically vibrating.

Adora laughed. "Well it sounds like she's got good taste! But...I will say, maybe just be more of your genuine goofy self and less of...cool Glimmer."

"But cool Glimmer is impressive," Glimmer said softly.

"Every part of Glimmer is impressive," Adora said supportively. "And I know Mermista and she'd really love just normal Glimmer in all her glory."

"Well thanks, Adora," Glimmer said genuinely as she brushed some hair out of her face. "I...yeah you're right. I figured I had gone too far when I looked up how to be cool."

"That's...yeah that's pretty sad," Adora admitted.

Glimmer nodded. "Yeah it was a low point. But anyway, we get to get ready together tonight! We get to pretty you all up again!"

"Oh don't remind me," Adora said with a groan. "We'll have to administer anaesthesia so I don't flinch every time you touch my eyelid."

"That's not a bad idea," Glimmer joked. "But I have a feeling we'll do better this time. Maybe Bow can come over and do it? He's _way _better than me."

"That sounds fun!" Adora agreed. "Do you want Scorpia to come over too?"

"Yes," Glimmer agreed quickly. "Yeah that sounds real good."

"Awesome. It'll be like a little pre-dance party."

"Yeah," Glimmer said. She bit at the inside of her cheek. "If, uh...if you wanna invite...Catra over too...for getting ready and stuff...you can totally do that too."

Adora was surprised that Glimmer would be okay with Catra being in her house while she was there. Maybe even in her own room. Maybe she wasn't okay with it, but at least she was extending the offer.

"Thanks," Adora said thoughtfully. "But I kinda want her to come over just for dinner so it can be, like, a little surprise or whatever."

Glimmer smiled cheekily and shook her head. "You two really are cute. And that's hard for me to say!"

"Oh I know."

"But I guess...I mean... I'm just glad you found someone who's...good for you. It was actually the last person I could have ever suspected, but I'm... I'm glad you two are a thing."

"Thanks, Glimmer. That...that means a lot."

"Well don't make me feel all self conscious about it," Glimmer said dismissively. "Anyway, we should talk about Mermista some more."

Adora laughed. "That sounds good to me."

* * *

Later that day, after school, Adora, Glimmer, Bow, and Scorpia were all crammed into Glimmer's room getting ready. The afternoon sun was shining through Glimmer's purple curtains and it made the whole room glow a soft pink.

Bow had made a playlist for the occasion and all of them were enjoying the music as they talked and got themselves ready for the dance.

Bow was taking frequent breaks from doing Adora's makeup to dance to the chorus of songs he liked. Glimmer would dance with him and Adora and Scorpia would clap along and cheer them on.

Bow sat back down in a chair after one of these impromptu dance sessions and took a long, contented breath. "This is the life right here. Good friends and good tunes. Adora, get your face over here."

Adora groaned and scooted forward reluctantly. "I thought you said you were done."

Bow wagged his finger and pulled out his eyeliner again. "No no, I said I was _practically _done. I need some finishing touches."

"Well as long as it's done soon," Adora whined as she tried to prepare her eye for the invasive feeling of the eyeliner.

"Someone's excited to start on their dinner!" Glimmer called out. She was sitting on her bed, cross-legged, painting Scorpia's nails black.

"Well I just wanna make sure I get it right," Adora explained. "My chickens are thawing as we speak."

"Oh I'm sure you'll get it right, you little master chef, you," Bow said sweetly as he gently brushed along Adora's eyelid. She flinched anyway but he managed to not mess up.

"And if you need any help, Scorpia's in culinary," Glimmer pointed out.

Scorpia looked up from her nails. "Oh yeah! Yeah I am. And I make a mean banana bread too. You're making a dinner for Catra?"

Adora nodded her head and Bow gasped.

"Don't move!" He exclaimed.

"Sorry, sorry," Adora apologized and then continued. "Yeah it's nothing special. Just chicken parmesan and spaghetti and some garlic bread and a small side salad. Oh and asparagus too. All paired with a nice orange Fanta."

"Hmmm," Scorpia murmured thoughtfully.

"What is it?" Adora asked.

"Oh no it's nothing. I mean...it's just that Catra...kinda hates asparagus."

Adora turned to Scorpia and Bow complained again as she moved out of his reach.

"Does she really?" Adora asked.

Scorpia shrugged guiltily. "I mean...she calls them barf sticks...but...that could be a term of endearment?"

Adora sighed and swiveled back to Bow. "Okay scratch the asparagus then. Man. All those video tutorials on cooking asparagus down the drain."

"Well, hey, the other stuff sounds great!" Scorpia reassured the girl. "And she _loves_ Italian food."

Adora smiled. "Thanks, Scorpia. You have all that juicy insider knowledge on Catra."

Scorpia chuckled. "You could say that."

"Or...just a suggestion…" Bow said as he focused in on Adora's makeup again. "You make the asparagus anyway and you just give it all to me. And then I eat it."

"Oh you leave her be, Bow," Glimmer objected, jabbing a finger at her friend. "Adora's already way in over her head as it is. She doesn't need to be cooking for your sorry self."

"Well I just wish _I _had someone to cook me cute dinners," Bow said with a pout.

"You know…" Scorpia said slowly. "I bet Dani Reyes would love to make you a cute dinner."

Bow shrunk a little in his chair and he ran a nervous hand through his hair.

Glimmer and Adora noticed Bow's reaction and then looked directly at each other before looking to Scorpia.

"Excuse me, what?" Glimmer demanded.

"Who is Dani Reyes?" Adora asked.

Scorpia giggled and Bow squirmed even more in his chair.

"He's...uh," Bow said awkwardly. "He's just one of our classmates. And I may have... recently started... talking with him. Maybe."

Adora and Glimmer both whipped their heads back around to stare at Bow.

"You like Dani Reyes!?" Glimmer shouted excitedly.

"I... I mean," Bow was grinning at this point. "We're not... he's not…" Bow paused for a moment. "Okay, who am I kidding? He's super cute and I think he's great."

"Oh my God!" Glimmer squeaked as she jostled around on her bed. "Dani is super cute! And I've never really talked to him but he seems like a great guy!"

"He really is," Bow admitted. "We've been texting and he came to my locker a few times and...I mean...he smells like vanilla. Vanilla! How can I resist a boy who smells like vanilla!?"

The girls laughed and Scorpia was grinning from ear to ear. "I told you he was into you!" Scorpia proclaimed. "From day one I called that!"

"You really think he likes me?" Bow asked, his eyeliner tube hanging in his hand, forgotten.

"Oh yes. Yup. Big yes," Scorpia replied.

"Awesome," Bow said with satisfaction.

"I gotta meet this guy," Adora said.

"Oh man, I wanna talk to him too," Glimmer said.

"Well let's not all mob up on him," Bow said with a grin.

"I think you should dance with him tonight," Scorpia said with a cheeky grin, eyeing Bow with narrowed eyes.

Adora and Glimmer nodded in obvious agreement.

Bow exhaled. "Woah now. I don't know. I don't even know if he'll be there."

"Well ask him!" Scorpia insisted, pointing at Bow's phone.

Bow smiled defeatedly. "Okay fine I'll ask him."

Adora pumped her fist in success and Glimmer elbowed Scorpia proudly, shooting her a smile.

Bow began typing on his phone. "But while we're all on this gossip train…how are you feeling about tonight, Glim?"

Glimmer smiled and thought about the question. "Half of me is super excited and the other half feels like I wanna melt into jelly."

"Oh wow. Jelly, huh?" Scorpia asked.

"Yup. Just a big pile of jelly. I'm freaking out about it." Glimmer finished up on Scorpia's nails and Scorpia started to paint Glimmer's nails with a nice lavender color.

"Well what are you worried about?" Adora asked.

"I don't know...the whole thing!?" Glimmer exclaimed. "What if I spill a drink on her dress? What if I step on her feet? What if she talks to me?"

"Well...that last one is probably gonna happen," Bow pointed out.

"I know, I know," Glimmer said quickly. "I'm just worried I'll say something dumb."

"I'm sure you won't," Adora insisted. "How about you just, like, practice or something?"

"Practice?"

"Great idea!" Bow agreed enthusiastically. "Scorpia you pretend to be Mermista and Glimmer you be Glimmer."

"Uhm…" Scorpia said nervously, pulling back from Glimmer's nails. "I don't know. Should someone else do it or…"

Glimmer turned to Scorpia. "Okay we're at dinner."

"Oh wow, we're really doing this, okay," Scorpia said quickly. "Alright I'm Mermista, I guess."

Glimmer thought to herself for a moment. "Uh. This place is really nice. I love Chinese food."

"Uh...yeah. Uh, I mean...Whatever, dude," Scorpia said suavely.

"Okay, pause," Adora intervened. "Mermista doesn't talk like that. At least not all the time."

"I was just trying to get in character!" Scorpia professed.

"Here try again and just be kinda...like you, but older," Adora advised.

Scorpia nodded and turned back to Glimmer. "So...do you come here often...or whatever?"

Adora facepalmed and Bow watched on excitedly.

"When I can," Glimmer replied. "What are your...interests…?"

Scorpia scratched her head. "Uh. I like…" she looked to Adora, who shrugged. "I like a lot of things. But I wanna know about you. What do you like to do?"

"Oh good question," Glimmer said, giving Scorpia a thumbs up. "I like to...um...alright pause." Glimmer held up a hand. "Okay my main hobbies are sleeping and video games. Do I tell her this?"

"Oh yeah," Adora answered. "That makes you relatable. I think."

Bow nodded. "Yeah I hear that and I'm like, 'woah she's cool'."

Glimmer nodded to herself. "Okay then I'll say that."

"Oh wow!" Scorpia responded. "I love sleep and games too! What a coincidence!"

Glimmer groaned. "Scorpiaaaa, what if she doesn't say that?"

"Who's Scorpia?" Scorpia asked.

Glimmer shook her head. "Okay, whatever. Uh. Man this is so dumb. Uh…" Glimmer thought about a question for a moment and then looked at Scorpia. "You look really pretty tonight."

A look of surprise immediately shot across Scorpia's face. "Uh... I…" she stuttered briefly before her mouth formed an 'o' and she remembered her role. "Oh! Uh. Yeah, ha! Thanks. You look, uh, you look really great too." Scorpia laughed nervously.

Glimmer gave Scorpia a funny smile. "Thanks, Sc...er... Mermista." Glimmer sighed. "Okay I don't think this is helping."

"Yeah it definitely worked better in my head," Bow agreed. "But that was some grade-A acting, though."

Scorpia smiled and pulled one of Glimmer's pillows up into her lap, squeezing it. "I've talked to Mermista maybe a handful of times in my life so I wasn't working with much."

"Well I wasn't feeling _my_ character," Glimmer said dejectedly. "Glimmer is still scared."

Adora sighed and walked over to Glimmer, leaning on her bedpost. "Look, I wasn't supposed to tell you this, but I talked to Mermista today and she's actually pretty nervous too. And I've never seen her nervous before."

"Wh…nervous how?"

"Well she just wants everything to go well and she wants you to have a good time. So you're both kinda in the same boat."

Glimmer blinked a few times. "I can't believe _Mermista _is nervous to go on a date with _me_."

"I can," Scorpia added, raising a hand.

"Yeah I can too," Adora agreed.

"Oh me too!" Bow called over as he continued inspecting his hair in the mirror.

Glimmer smiled. "Welp. This is the highest my self-esteem has been in a while."

"Good. But really though, if she figures out I told you she was losing her cool then she'll probably actually kill me."

Glimmer chuckled. "Won't leave the room. Thanks, sis." Glimmer reached over and hugged Adora's arm.

Adora let out a silent gasp as she realized Glimmer had called her 'sis'. Just the one word filled Adora's head and she smiled to herself as she patted Glimmer on the back.

* * *

Adora had not been cooking for long when she realized that she hated cooking with a fierce passion. She had already burnt her hand twice and had spilled spaghetti sauce on the floor.

She was grumbling under her breath when Angella walked by and stopped dead in her tracks, surveying the mess in the kitchen. "Adora, honey, do you need some help?"

Adora swiveled and Angella saw that there was some pasta sauce smeared on her cheek. "No thank you, it's all going well."

At that moment an alarm went off on Adora's phone and she went to grab it. Her arm collided with a spoon as she did and it fell off of the counter and onto the floor. Adora growled and looked at the time on her phone.

She sighed and looked back to Angella. "Maybe a little help. If...you're free?"

Angella smiled warmly and walked over, picking up the spoon and running it under some hot water. "I'm free. You just let me know what you need help with and we'll knock it out."

"Literally everything," Adora said with a tired smile.

"Well then we better get to work!"

The two picked up where Adora had left off. With the two of them working on it together, they were able to finish everything much quicker and clean the kitchen at the same time.

Adora set the table up all pretty while everything was cooking. She set a couple of candles in the middle of the table and set out nice plates and fancy wine glasses. She even folded the napkins.

Then she stepped back, surveying the space. She looked at her phone and swelled up with pride. With Angella's help, she was right on schedule. She texted Catra and told her she could come over now.

Angella pulled the garlic bread out of the oven and the whole kitchen filled with the pleasant aroma.

"Well it looks like everything is just about ready," Angella said and gave Adora a hug. "You did great. Everything looks so good."

"Well I couldn't have done it without your help," Adora replied.

Then they both heard the sound of heels slowly descending down the stairs. Both of them turned and saw Glimmer entering the living room, all decked out for the night.

"Oh, Glimmer, you look so beautiful!" Angella shouted.

"You do look really great," Adora agreed.

Glimmer smiled bashfully. She was wearing a long, dark purple dress with small, shimmering, silver sparkles throughout the length of it. All the little sparkles glinted in the sun coming through the windows of the living room and made the dress glisten and shine. All her fingernails were painted purple to match her dress and she had put on some soft purple eyeshadow as well.

She did a little spin and grinned. Adora could tell now that she was more excited than nervous.

"Mermista said she'll be here soon," Glimmer said as she walked over to the front door and peered out. "Oh. Well she's here."

"Oh can you please ask her if she can come in and do pictures?" Angella begged.

Glimmer winced at the suggestion but nodded anyway. "Okay, fine."

Glimmer opened the door and stepped out, seeing that Mermista had parked and was already walking up to the house.

Glimmer stopped and stared dumbly. She tried not to gawk as Mermista approached.

She was wearing an aqua colored, knee-length, cocktail dress that showed off her physique nicely. Her hair always looked nice to Glimmer, but right now it somehow looked _especially_ nice as her long black locks curled and bounced down over her shoulders. She flashed a smile at Glimmer as she walked up and Glimmer just about swooned right there.

"Hey," she said, taking in Glimmer's appearance. "You look...wow...you look, like, really pretty."

"Thanks," Glimmer replied. "And you look just incredible."

Mermista smiled warmly and stepped up the porch step, looping her arm around Glimmer's. "Well I'm excited for our night."

Glimmer had to force her mind to not short-circuit like it had last time she had talked to Mermista. "Me too. I'm so excited. But first...my mom wants to take pictures." Glimmer frowned.

Mermista laughed. "I don't mind."

"Oh good," Glimmer answered. "Uh...right this way." She walked Mermista over to the door and ushered her inside.

"Hello, Mermista!" Angella greeted her as she entered. "It's so good to meet you! You look so pretty! I'm Glimmer's mother."

"Nice to meet you," Mermista said politely. "And thanks. It smells great in here."

"Oh that's Adora making her dinner," Glimmer said.

Adora popped around the corner of the kitchen and saw Mermista. She smiled and walked up to the group. "Hey."

"What's up, Adora," Mermista said, happy to see her. "You making dinner?"

"Oh, yeah. It's like a little thing I'm doing for Catra."

"Look at you ya little dork," Mermista said with a grin. "Catra will love that."

Adora smiled and Glimmer nudged her mom lightly. "We gotta get going for dinner."

"Oh of course," Angella said, pulling out her phone.

Glimmer and Mermista stood next to each other and Mermista wrapped an arm around Glimmer as they smiled and Angella took some pictures.

"Okay that should do it," Angella said after a few. "You both look so good. Have fun tonight."

Glimmer smiled at her mom and Mermista said goodbye to Angella and Adora before her and Glimmer headed outside and out to the car.

Adora watched them go and was happy that her friend and her foster sister were so happy to be together tonight.

Adora watched as they got in the car and another, more familiar, car pulled up slowly. It parked poorly on the curb and Adora filled up with joy.

"Now _that_ is some perfect timing," Adora said proudly and Angella smirked.

"Are they still not getting along?"

"You know, they're actually doing surprisingly well," Adora said, looking outside the window as Catra got out of her car and started walking up to the house.

"Oh good. I'm so excited for you two. Okay, I'm gonna make myself scarce so you can have a nice little dinner to yourselves. But I swear if you don't come get me for pictures before you leave I'll ground you for weeks."

"No promises," Adora said wryly and Angella shot her a stern look before she broke and smiled. Then she went off to her room.

Adora opened the front door just as Catra walked up to the porch.

"Welcome to…...woah…"Adora stopped mid-sentence and took in Catra's appearance. She wasn't dressed up in her suit yet, but that wasn't what was drawing Adora's attention.

"Oh," Catra said, her mouth wavering between a smile and a frown as she nervously tried to gauge Adora's reaction to her hair.

Catra had literally just gotten it cut and styled at a salon an hour ago and she was currently more in love with her hair than she had ever been in her whole life.

Where her dark brown hair had before dropped down to her mid-back, she had sheared off the vast majority of it and it now reached down to just under her ears. Her natural wild curls were still sprouting out, but now they were nicely restrained behind her head in a way that framed her face perfectly. A single curl of hair dropped down from the well-groomed cut down into her face.

The cut was the shortest Catra had ever gotten and she loved the look. She had picked it herself out of a men's hair catalogue just the other day and had been extremely excited to get it cut for the dance. Of course, she hadn't told Adora about it and now Catra was just hoping that she wouldn't hate it.

Catra clutched at one arm nervously as Adora stepped closer and her eyes grazed over Catra's head rapidly. "I was gonna tell you about the haircut, but...I didn't know how to...I wasn't sure if you'd like it and…"

Adora grabbed both of Catra's hands in her own and stopped Catra's nervous rambling by staring into her eyes. "Catra. I love it."

"Do you really?"

"I _love _it," Adora repeated. She reached out and played with a few of the curls, smiling. "Yeah this is nice."

Catra finally let her guard down and exhaled in relief. "Okay good. Cuz I'm absolutely obsessed with it."

"It suits you," Adora said with a grin.

"Oh! And speaking of suits…mine is in the car. I just didn't wanna get food on it or something."

"I figured you'd do that," Adora smirked. "So I didn't dress up yet either."

"Well but you have makeup on and stuff! And your hair looks all pretty!" Catra exclaimed. Adora really did look beautiful. Catra took in all of her features and wondered how someone so pretty could like her. "You look amazing already."

Adora blushed a little. "Thanks. Bow prettied me up. And that is no easy task! But anyway...you look really good too. I can't stop looking at your hair."

Catra chuckled. "In a good way?"

"Definitely in a good way," Adora said, trying and failing to pull her eyes from Catra.

"Well," Catra said, putting an arm behind her head. "I'm excited for…"

Adora stepped forward suddenly and gave Catra a big hug, causing her to forget what she was saying and laugh, hugging Adora back.

"What's this about?" She asked.

"It's just really good to see you."

Catra smiled warmly and held her tighter. "It's good to see you too."

"You smell good. Is that a new cologne?"

"Nah that's just my natural musk," Catra joked.

"You're such an idiot," Adora said lovingly.

"I know," Catra said as they finally broke up the hug. "And I'm also a hungry idiot."

"Well then, do I have a treat for you," Adora said proudly as she guided Catra to the front door and inside the house.

Catra stepped in and looked around at the interior. "Man this is trippy."

"Oh I didn't even think of that," Adora said. "You've been here before, huh?"

"Oh yeah," Catra replied. "Just didn't think I'd ever come back. It smells _way_ better than I remember."

Adora grinned. "Well that's good to hear. Come on." Adora led Catra through the living room and then slowly turned the corner, revealing the dining table to Catra. The candles were all lit and Adora had added a few flowers in a vase as the centerpiece. There were two places at the table set up right across from one another.

Catra looked at all the food on the table and realized the effort Adora had put into making it all look nice. "Adora...wow…I can't believe you did all this for me."

"Well you deserve it. This is literally the least I can do for you having to put up with me all the time."

Catra pursed her lips and looked at Adora. "I _love_ putting up with you. And this looks incredible."

"Well let's hope so," Adora said as they both walked over and took their seats. "I may not be a culinary expert like you, but I sure put a lot of love into it. And a lot of frustration."

Catra laughed. "Yeah cooking is a pain. So the fact that you did all this for me is blowing my mind."

Adora shrugged. "It was worth it."

"Dude, and you made chicken parmesan? That's like one of my favorite things in life."

"I figured it was a safe bet," Adora agreed warmly. "I hope you like it all."

"I mean, I'm about certain I will," Catra answered.

The sun began to set and a nice soft orange glow filled the dining room as the girls began to eat their meal. They still had plenty of time before the dance started and they weren't in any rush. It was simply good to eat together and talk about their days.

"Okay you did so good," Catra said as she got a second helping. "You really never cooked before this?"

"Not really," Adora answered, flattered by the high praise. "Just, like, pancakes and...cereal."

"Well I don't think cereal counts," Catra said with a toothy grin. "But really, though, this is amazing. I mean you put, like, herbs and junk in this!"

"Oh yeah all the herbs," Adora said proudly. "Only the best for you."

"And the table. These flowers and the candles? That's...I mean it's all so nice!"

"Well I wanted the atmosphere to be more, y'know...romantic."

Catra looked up from her plate and raised her eyebrows at Adora, who was looking at her contentedly.

Catra felt the flutter in her chest again and her brain felt kind of numb, but in a good way. "Yeah," she said decidedly. "Yeah let's keep that mood going."

Adora's heart was beating fast and it was hard to focus. She found it kind of funny. The way her pulse was pounding and her body heat rose, it almost felt like nervousness or anxiety. But this time it was all fueled by excitement and affection.

Adora reached out and grasped Catra's hand, holding it tightly. "This is gonna be a great night."

"A night to remember."

_**Aw. What lil lovebirds. I could have spent a whole chapter just explaining what everyone's outfits look like down to the last detail, but I've tried to hold back. Anyway since this is getting to the end of what's basically the season finale I suppose of this story, I just wanted to say that this whole thing has been a super great experience. I mean writing this for myself and others has been a great escape. Especially with everything that's been going on lately. And just this last week I've gotten such supportive and fun to read comments about the story and I just wanna thank everyone for being so great! And don't worry, I've already been heavy planning for what's gonna happen with this fic in the future. Very excited. Stay safe everyone and thanks for reading!**_


	35. Chapter 35

_**Well here we are! Something I've had kicking about in my head for a looong time. I decided to put this little author's note at the beginning because I want the end to hit hard. This chapter was definitely my favorite to write by far. I only cried like a million times. I hope you enjoy it and that it makes you as happy as it made me. Also keep in mind that the story does not end here. To be honest, I've already written some of my next little season portion that'll go up soon and I'm so excited for that. And really, this whole story really has been so extremely satisfying to write and a great escape and the kind things you people have said about it have made me even happier. I love all the reviews and reactions and theories! So thank you all for everything. And I hope you've enjoyed the story so far. I hope you all stay healthy and happy and I'll be sure to update soon! Thanks!**_

"Have I told you yet that you look beautiful?" Catra asked Adora as they pulled into the high school parking lot. It was already filled with cars and there were students walking to the school and entering the gymnasium doors.

"About twenty times, yeah," Adora answered with an elated smile. She turned from the window and looked to Catra. "And I told you, every time you compliment me I'm just gonna throw it right back! So you're looking pretty gorgeous yourself."

"Gorgeous? That's a new one. I'll have to use that next time," she said with a toothy grin.

Catra flipped down the overhead mirror and examined herself, adjusting her black bowtie. Adora saw her fiddling with it and reached over to her seat, grasping the tie on either side with her hands.

They made eye contact as Adora straightened it for the girl. The air between them tonight felt charged. Even more charged than it usually did.

Adora drew her hands back and looked Catra over. She was wearing a rich crimson suit that was perfectly tailored for her. She wore a black dress shirt under the suit jacket and a black bow tie. It looked incredible in her and Adora found it hard not to stare, a problem she had been having all night.

"Perfect," Adora said softly.

Catra didn't often get flustered, but this got her and she looked away. "Thanks. And you look perfect too. Of course."

Adora snorted and briefly checked herself out in the mirror as well. She was wearing the dress she had picked out with Bow at the mall. The color she had picked perfectly matched with Catra's suit and Adora felt an immediate and unfamiliar rush of confidence as she saw herself. The dress was simple and not very flashy, which made Adora feel better about it. It also showed off her arms and her back, where she was proud of the muscle definition she had been building. Adora was still shocked by the fact that a dress of all things could make her feel so much more confident.

Adora turned back to Catra and smiled. Catra didn't have any makeup on, and Adora would honestly have been a little weirded out if she had. Adora had learned a while back that Catra hated the stuff and hadn't worn it ever as far back as she could remember. But Catra didn't need it. Her features all looked perfect to Adora without any modifications.

Adora sighed contentedly as she stared at her date.

Catra stared back and shook her head, a goofy smile creeping across her face. "Should we just sit in here and stare and call each other beautiful all night or should we actually go in?"

"Hmmmmmm," Adora said thoughtfully, still staring at Catra. "I _guess_ we can go in."

Catra laughed in her usual raspy way. "I mean, just because we're in there doesn't mean we have to stop staring."

"This is true."

"And you're feeling alright about being in there?"

"Yes," Adora answered honestly. "It's a lot of people, but I have you and my friends and it's a familiar environment. Plus it's a very different vibe than the party at Mermista's place."

"Definitely," Catra agreed, nodding her head and staring out at the school. "But if you wanna leave at any point, let me know and we'll blow this joint."

Adora chuckled, glad that Catra was so considerate. "I'll let you know."

Catra looked satisfied and took a deep breath, resting her hand on the door handle. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Adora replied.

Both girls got out of the car and felt the setting sun on their skin. It was warmer outside than it had been in a while, almost as if the weather had made an exception just for the Fall Formal.

Adora placed her feet onto the pavement below her and was glad that she had opted for wearing flats instead of heels. Glimmer and her had practiced the other night and Adora had tried very hard to get the hang of walking in a heel, but after what felt like a thousand falls and way too much discomfort, Adora decided that heels weren't for her.

Adora walked around the back of the car and met up with Catra, who admired her again now that they were out of the car.

"We really can't stop staring, huh?" Adora asked, amused.

"Yeah this is gonna be a very distracting night," Catra replied.

Catra sidled up to Adora and the pair made their way to the gym doors.

"So you've been to these before?" Adora asked as they walked through the parking lot.

"Yeah like one or two. It was kinda fun, but also lame. But I'm sure that with you it'll be better!"

"Well at the very least we'll be together even if it's lame," Adora reasoned.

"That's fine by me."

The girls approached the doors and Catra took a few quick steps ahead to grab the door for Adora. She gestured inside with her free hand. "After you."

"What a gentleman," Adora said, laughing.

The girls entered the school and walked up to the check-in table outside the entrance to the gymnasium that was being run by Mrs. Weaver and Ms. Huntara.

"Hey, girls!" Ms. Huntara greeted them loudly as they approached. "Welcome to the dance!"

Mrs. Weaver lurched away and covered the ear that Huntara was practically yelling into. She rubbed at her temples as if nursing a headache.

"Good evening," she said bluntly as she picked up a clipboard and handed it to them to sign in.

The girls were finding their names on the sheet of paper when Mr. Hordak walked out from the gym doors, the sound of music pulsing out from the room behind him. He spotted Adora and Catra and couldn't hide his displeasure.

He walked up to the table and stood behind Ms. Huntara and Mrs. Weaver.

"Welcome, you two," he greeted the girls in a sour tone, a scowl seemingly stuck on his face.

"Sup, Mr. H," Catra replied casually as she signed her initials next to her name. She knew her disrespectful attitude would bug the vice principal and she took great joy in this.

Mr. Hordak grimaced and glared at Catra. "I think we'll start our breathalyzing tests now." He held up a strange looking mechanism in his hand.

"What?" Catra asked, annoyed. "We weren't drinking."

"Well then it shouldn't bother you if I test that," Hordak said sternly.

Adora put a supportive hand on Catra's shoulder and the girl glowered at the man and opened her mouth to complain again when Mrs. Weaver cleared her throat.

She stood up from her chair and turned to face Hordak. "Mr. Hordak, I am simply not in the mood for your pathetic profiling and general immaturity tonight. I'll kindly ask that you leave these girls alone and get out of here before I make a call to my wife and request for the hundredth time that we get a new vice principal."

Mr. Hordak's eyes widened in shock and his mouth formed various shapes as he fumbled to come up with a response. He looked back to Adora and Catra, then to Ms. Huntara who was shaking her head at him, and finally to Mrs. Weaver who was giving him a deadly glare.

Hordak, flustered and embarrassed, turned his eyes from her gaze and walked away, opening the gym doors again and leaving without speaking another word.

Mrs. Weaver sighed and rubbed at her head again as she slumped back into her chair, a grumpy expression on her face. "Sorry about that, girls. Enjoy your night."

Catra and Adora were frozen in shock at the whole event and stared for a moment before collecting themselves.

"Thanks, Mrs. Weaver," Catra said sincerely. Catra was pretty sure it was the first time she had ever said anything nice to the overbearing teacher.

Mrs. Weaver waved a hand. "I was just doing my job."

Ms. Huntara smiled at Mrs. Weaver's response and waved the girls off. "Have fun!"

Catra and Adora walked past the table and entered the gym doors. They instantly heard the pop music playing loudly and looked over to where Mr. Hawk was manning a DJ booth with massive speakers. The lights were all dimmed and the room was mostly lit with pretty fairy lights that hung from the ceiling and were mounted on the walls.

One portion of the bleachers was extended for students to sit on and the majority of the floor was an open space for dancing and mingling. The dance had just started not long ago, so there weren't a ton of people there yet, but there were still quite a lot of their classmates already having a good time. A table along one side had various snacks and treats, including a small chocolate fountain and a punch bowl.

"Woah," Adora said as she took it in.

"Like, 'woah' to what just happened or 'woah' to this place?" Catra asked.

"Both! That was crazy!"

"I know!" Catra exclaimed. "I mean, I thought Mrs. Weaver hated my guts!"

"I guess she just hates Mr. Hordak even more," Adora reasoned. "Hey. Who is she married to?"

"Oh. Her and Principal Hope are married. You didn't know that?"

"I...had no idea," Adora answered thoughtfully, trying to imagine the two of them together.

"Yeah they're a whole family of evil," Catra said with a chuckle. "Except now...I feel like Mrs. Weaver might actually be kinda...sorta...not too bad maybe."

"Well maybe now you'll stop getting detentions in her class," Adora joked.

"Hey, it's been a while since my last! I'm going clean!"

"We'll see," Adora said joyfully. She looked around the gym again, a little overwhelmed.

Catra saw this and took Adora's hand. "How about we go get some punch?"

"I like punch," Adora decided.

"C'mon," Catra said with a giggle as she pulled Adora along. They walked over to the concessions table and Catra began to ladle out some punch.

"What if this stuff is spiked or something?" Adora questioned.

"That only happens in movies," Catra countered. She handed the cup to Adora and went to fill another. Adora sniffed it just in case before sipping from it slowly.

She looked around the gym a bit and got accustomed to her surroundings. She was looking out at the dance floor when she saw two familiar figures heading towards her speedily.

Adora laughed and elbowed Catra, who had just finished filling her cup. "Here comes trouble."

Catra turned and chuckled as Bow and Scorpia caught up to them.

Bow walked up and instantly pointed at Catra's head. "Girl! Your hair looks _so_ good!"

Catra tried to hide how happy this compliment made her, but she couldn't conceal her smile.

"Thanks, Bow."

Scorpia stared at Catra for a moment and then smiled genuinely. "You look really great Catra. And Adora, you look so pretty."

"Thanks, Scorpia. You look great too. You both do," Adora replied.

Bow did a little twirl and showed off his outfit. He had a pink suit on with a lavender dress shirt underneath. He had the top buttons of his collar undone and a red rose corsage rested on his chest. He had also done a little makeup on himself, bringing out his eyes and his lips.

"I swear I was _this_ close to chopping off the torso of this sucker and making it a crop suit. But my dads would have killed me."

"Yeah I don't often see you with so little skin revealed," Adora joked.

"My skin needs to breathe!" Bow proclaimed.

Scorpia chuckled next to him. She had on a long black dress that cut off just below her arms. It was made of a dark satin fabric and glistened a little in the light. Her makeup was all black as well and it contrasted nicely with her silver hair.

"You guys have some killer contrast going," Catra pointed out. "It's, like, jacked goth babe and adorable flower boy."

"That's us," Bow said proudly, holding a fist up.

Scorpia bumped it and laughed. "Yeah this night has actually been pretty great. We went to IHOP."

"Yeah it was great!" Bow said excitedly. "We had a pancake eating competition and I almost threw up!"

"He did. It was hard to watch actually," Scorpia said, a sad look on her face as she relived the memory.

"Well I'm glad you two are having fun," Adora said happily.

"And how was your dinner?" Bow asked. "Was it as _dreamy _as I pictured it?"

Adora giggled and Catra rolled her eyes.

"It was perfect," Catra answered. "And Adora is an excellent chef."

"Well I hope you liked it cuz I never wanna cook again," Adora said decisively.

"Well I'll just have to cook for you next time," Catra suggested.

Adora looked to Catra and smiled, brushing some hair out of her face. Catra stared back at her.

"Oooohhh, should Scorpia and I give you two a moment?" Bow said childishly.

"Shut up," Catra said with a grin.

Adora enjoyed this moment with her friends and looked around the room. "So what exactly do you do at these things?"

Catra snorted. "You sound like an old lady. You just kinda dance and chill. Or just drink punch and watch other people dance and chill."

"Wow," Scorpia said, whistling softly. "That really does sum it up, huh?"

"Pretty much," Bow agreed. "And I'm one heck of a dancer too. Glimmer and I used to have this routine, right? It was like a co-op dance we made in middle school. It killed at dances."

"I'm sure it did," Catra said with a doubtful expression.

"No really!" Bow exclaimed. "A circle formed around us one time! It was a highlight in my life."

Adora laughed. "Well I'd love to see that."

"I'm not sure I remember it anymore," Bow said disappointedly. "But Glimmer probably does. I'll see what I can do."

"Hey, speaking of," Scorpia said, raising a hand and gesturing towards the doors of the gym.

The group all turned and looked to see Glimmer and Mermista walking towards them. Glimmer looked extremely excited and also like she wanted to scream at the same time. Mermista looked as chill as she usually did.

"Wow," Bow said in admiration. "Our girl looks pretty good, huh?"

"Yeah," Scorpia answered fondly.

Adora nodded in agreement and waved at Glimmer as she walked up to join them.

"Hey guys," Glimmer greeted them. "You all look great."

"You do too!" Bow exclaimed, reaching out and hugging her tightly. "How was dinner?"

"It was really good," Glimmer said excitedly. She looked to Mermista.

"It was, like, really good," Mermista agreed. "And Glimmer's a great date."

"You hear that?" Glimmer asked excitedly. "I'm a great date!"

"Well we coulda told you that," Adora said with a smile, hitting Glimmer in the arm playfully. "And now that you're here, Bow was just telling us about a certain dance routine you two made?"

Glimmer's eyes widened. "You mean the Crack n' Whack?" She turned to Bow. "Is it time to bring it back?"

Bow laughed. "I'm game if you are."

"Oh man, let's go figure it out again! Well...shoot... Mermista are you okay if Bow and I go an…"

"Glimmer," Mermista said, cutting her off. "Go have fun. I'll be here all night." Mermista smiled down at Glimmer and everyone watched as Glimmer practically melted.

"Oh...okay," Glimmer said, a goofy smile on her face. "I'll be back for you! We're gonna dance!"

"I'm counting on it," Mermista said suavely.

Glimmer gave her one last glance and then turned to go to the dance floor with Bow. She stopped after taking a few steps and turned back to where Adora and Catra were standing.

"You guys both look real….uh...cute together...so...that's all." She turned away quickly and hurried off.

Bow smiled at her words and waved to the group before following her.

"Look at that," Adora said, nudging Catra. "Maybe you two will be able to get along after all."

Catra shrugged and took a strawberry from the table behind her.

Adora smiled at Catra endearingly and then noticed Scorpia standing awkwardly off to the side, jamming her fingers together. Adora thought to herself for a moment.

"Hey, I think I'm gonna go talk with Mermista for a while. Do you mind?"

"Of course not," Catra said quickly. "You go have fun. And then come back and we'll eat our weight in this chocolate."

"Well don't eat too much," Adora said with a grin. "I _may_ have plans for dessert after this."

Catra looked both confused and excited. "Well now I'm just excited. You're the best."

Adora just chuckled and squeezed Catra's arm before walking a few feet down the table where Mermista had gone to get some water, leaving Scorpia and Catra alone together.

Adora hoped that the two of them would have an easier time talking things out if she was somewhere else. And she also just wanted to talk with Mermista about Glimmer.

"Hey, Mermista," Adora said as she approached.

"Sup."

"So just between you and me. What do you think of Glimmer. Like, actually." Adora asked, leaning up against the table behind her.

Mermista looked over to the dance floor where Glimmer was currently guiding Bow through some moves. "I don't know, Adora," Mermista said slowly. "I, like... didn't know what to expect at first, but she's...so nice and funny and really cute. And I like her...spunk or whatever. Sorry, is that weird for me to talk about your foster sister like that?

"No, you're fine," Adora assured her. If anything, she was overjoyed that Mermista and Glimmer were getting along so well.

"But yeah," Mermista continued. "I _hate _talking about feelings and stuff, but basically... I'm surprised by how fun she is. She can get me to laugh which is a genuine challenge. I dunno...I just think she's cool."

Adora smiled up at Mermista as she sipped her water and stared out at Glimmer. "Well that's good to hear."

* * *

"So…" Catra said, clearing her throat and stepping a bit closer to Scorpia. "IHOP, huh?"

"Yeah," Scorpia said awkwardly. "I like how they put the little fruit on the pancakes and you can make the face out of it."

Catra snorted. "Yeah. That's... that's cool."

The two stood beside each other for a prolonged moment of silence, both sensing the nerves from the other.

"Um," Scorpia said slowly. "Do you know if Kyle and Rogelio are coming? I meant to ask but, y'know."

"Nah. Dances are too mainstream for them. They said they're having a nice date night at home making s'mores and cuddling and stuff."

"Oh. That's cute."

"Yup," Catra said quickly. She shuffled her feet nervously and began to look around the gym. She wished it wasn't so hard to talk to Scorpia now as she sipped slowly at her punch.

"Cat, look," Scorpia said suddenly, drawing Catra's attention. "I'm sorry."

Catra cocked her head. "Sorry for what?"

"For the whole...thing. For being into you. And just making everything weird."

"Wh…" Catra said in disbelief. "Quit that!"

"What?" Scorpia asked, looking surprised by Catra's sudden outburst.

"You don't have to be sorry for that!" Catra exclaimed. "You didn't make anything weird between us!"

"Well, but I…"

"You can't go blaming yourself for being attracted to someone," Catra said, staring at Scorpia intently. The girl lowered her head in shame. "Sometimes you just meet someone and fall hard. Even if they're not...the most viable option." Catra thought back to meeting Adora and the challenges that had come with that.

Scorpia sighed. "I mean, that's true I guess. I just wish we could go back to how things were. Before... y'know." Scorpia waved her arms, gesturing at everything around them.

"That's super impossible," Catra answered honestly and Scorpia's shoulders sagged. "But...we can always, like, make something better, right?"

Scorpia looked over to her, doubt in her eyes. "But everything is so weird now."

"Well screw that then," Catra said defiantly. "Let's just make it not weird."

"How do we do that?"

"Well...we could start by getting whatever that is off of your dress." Catra pointed her finger to a spot on Scorpia's chest.

"What?" Scorpia asked as she looked down to inspect her dress and immediately got flicked in the nose as Catra swiped her finger up quickly.

Scorpia looked dumbfounded and put a hand to the tip of her nose.

Catra cackled and drew her hand back. "At least that hasn't changed."

Scorpia's shock slowly transformed into a big smile and she began to laugh slowly.

Hearing Scorpia's goofy laugh had always made Catra laugh too and she began to chuckle along.

And then, in a matter of seconds, they were just two idiots, laughing loudly over apparently nothing like the old friends that they were.

* * *

"Is it the hand on the waist and then the wiggle or the other way around?" Bow asked Glimmer as they pieced through their old dance routine. The students around them were staring at them like they were crazy, but neither of them cared.

Glimmer put a hand on her waist and did a wiggle. "Oh yeah, that felt _right_. That was definitely next."

Bow laughed. "Alright so the wiggle. And I know I busted out that worm somewhere in there!"

"I definitely remember you convulsing on the floor, yeah," Glimmer said thoughtfully. "Maybe at the end?"

"That sounds about right. And maybe I can…" Bow trailed off and looked over Glimmer's shoulder distractedly.

Glimmer curiously followed his gaze and spotted Dani Reyes wandering around the gym. Glimmer had never talked to him much, but she did know that Bow seemed to have a thing for him.

Glimmer looked back at Bow with an impish grin. "Whatcha looking at?" She asked tauntingly.

"Nothing," Bow said unconvincingly.

"Sure. Come here," Glimmer grabbed Bow's wrist and began dragging him across the dance floor and over towards Dani.

Bow half-heartedly resisted, but he knew he stood no chance. Glimmer was stronger than him and also a part of him really did want to talk to Dani.

"Gliiiiim, I don't know what to saaaay," Bow whined as Glimmer weaved him through the crowd of dancing students.

"Oh just say something cheesy and sweet like usual," Glimmer said excitedly.

Bow pouted right up until Glimmer stopped and they were face to face with Dani, who greeted both of them.

He had a nice black suit on and he smiled as he looked at Bow. "Hey, guys. What's up?"

"Oh you know, just dance things," Glimmer said excitedly. "Do you guys want punch? I'm gonna go get us some punch!" Glimmer rushed off, leaving Bow behind.

"Oh I already have some…" Dani called after her helplessly as he raised a cup in his other hand, but Glimmer was already long gone.

Bow tittered nervously. "Well, you never know with her. She'll just...up and get you punch. Just outta nowhere."

Dani gave Bow a glance. "So how's your night been?"

"Good! Real good. I'm here with my friend Scorpia. You met her the other day when we interrogated you."

"Yeah that's hard to forget," Dani recalled the event fondly. "That sounds fun, though!"

"Yeah, y'know," Bow said, waving a hand. "So...are you, like, here with anyone or…"

Dani shook his head. "No, I uh…look...don't laugh at me, okay?"

"I don't even know how to laugh," Bow answered quickly.

Dani cracked a smile and then continued. "When you texted and asked if I was going...I wasn't even actually planning on going. I was just watching Netflix. But then you asked and I...I said I was. So I had to throw this outfit together and now I'm here!"

"Woah," Bow said quietly. "Well I'm sorry if I made you feel like you had to come."

"No," Dani clarified. "I wanted to."

"Oh," Bow said, staring at Dani. "Well it's good to see you."

"It's good to see you too, Bow," Dani said with a smile.

"And the fact that you just 'threw together' your whole look right now? I mean props to you," Bow complimented the boy.

Dani laughed. "Well thanks. It's nothing compared to how good you look right now, but it worked in a pinch."

Bow felt his cheeks grow a little hot and he looked to see if Glimmer was on her way back.

"Hey, do you wanna dance?" Dani asked.

Bow inhaled sharply. "You know what? Yes. Yes I do."

Dani smiled and led Bow over to the dance floor.

Watching from the punch table, Glimmer congratulated herself.

* * *

Adora eventually caught up with Frosta and saw that she was hanging around with her new friend Holly and a couple of other freshman.

Frosta was clutching a big bottle of soda and Adora could've sworn she was twitching slightly as she greeted her.

"Hey, Frosta! How many of those have you had?"

"Oh hey! Um…" Frosta stared at the half-empty bottle in her hands. "At least three. At least."

"Geez, take it easy!" Adora laughed.

"Adora, I don't think you understand. My parents _never_ let me drink soda. They say it'll rot my mind. That doesn't even make sense! This is my one night. My one night, Adora!" Frosta threw back the bottle and took a big swig of cola.

Adora shook her head. "Well I won't get in the way of your night on the town. How are things going with Holly and her friends?"

Frosta looked over the group, who were dancing nearby. "Better than I thought. I was sorta worried at first and I didn't know any of those people, but Holly introduced me and she's spending way more time with me than those dummies so it's going pretty well."

"Well Holly sounds like a good friend. And y'know, just a little tip, but I think that if you didn't call them dummies you might get along better," Adora advised with a wry smile.

Frosta shrugged. "Hey, man. If someone's a dummy I'm gonna call 'em on it."

"Never change, Frosta."

"Oh I don't plan on it," Frosta said joyfully, taking another gulp of her soda. "Have you made out with Catra yet?"

Adora sighed. "No not yet...er...no. I mean no I haven't."

Frosta grinned devilishly. "You said yet! You said yet!"

"Oh god," Adora muttered as she held a hand to her head, embarrassed.

Frosta did a little happy dance and then patted Adora on the back. "Oh man, you make it too easy. But really, have fun tonight, kid. I'll see ya Monday."

Adora stared in disbelief at the ball of chaotic energy that was Frosta. "I'll see you then, you little punk."

Frosta seemed to like this and smiled before running over to join Holly and her group of friends.

Adora watched after Frosta for a few seconds and was happy to see her getting along with the other kids. Adora was sure it was difficult for Frosta to make friends with her... attitude. But Holly seemed to be a good fit for her. Neither of them took each other too seriously.

Adora felt a gentle tap on her shoulder and turned around to see Catra, a suave look on her face.

"Good evening milady," Catra said with a little bow. "May I take your hand?" Catra stretched out her open palm slowly.

Adora chuckled and placed her hand on Catra's. Catra gingerly wrapped her fingers around Adora's and led her across the dance floor, over to a less populated area. Eventually Catra stopped and turned to face Adora.

"What are we over here for?" Adora asked.

"Well…" Catra said, listening to the upbeat pop song that was playing over the speakers. "Give it a moment." She waited a few moments. "Just a _little_ longer."

Then, after the final note of the song wore out, there was a moment of silence before a slower, more romantic song began to play. Adora noticed people around them finding dance partners and heading to the dance floor.

Adora bit at her lip. "Catra, I... I've never slow danced before. I'm gonna be falling all over."

Catra tugged at Adora's arm and pulled her in close, until their faces were about half a foot from each other. "Not if I hold you close enough."

Adora stared with wide eyes, absolutely transfixed, as Catra grinned.

"You just put your hands up on my shoulders," Catra said slowly, not breaking eye contact.

Adora slowly brought her hands up to Catra's shoulders. Catra placed her own hands on Adora's waist and Adora shivered slightly at the contact.

"And now...we dance," Catra said as she stared into Adora's eyes.

Adora stared right back and began to step with Catra as she swayed back and to the side. Adora wasn't even worried about messing up or looking dumb. The only thing she could think about was Catra. Pressed up against her so tightly. The smell of her cologne filling up Adora's nose.

Adora's breath left her as she marveled at the intensity of her feelings towards Catra right now. Catra spotted the emotions running through Adora's eyes and smiled.

"You're a pretty good dancer for your first time."

"Well...I...have a good partner," Adora said softly.

"Or you're just a natural," Catra countered.

The music played on as the girls moved in small circles, swaying to the beat.

"How did you know this song was coming up?" Adora asked.

"Oh, I asked Mr. Hawk when the next slow song was. Then I stalked you and waited for you to stop talking to Frosta. Then I swept you up and here we are."

Adora laughed lightly. "Well your timing was perfect. And I'm enjoying this much more than I thought I would."

"I thought you'd warm up to it," Catra said with a smile.

They danced a little longer as the music wound on and began to reach its end.

"You ready for an advanced move?" Catra asked.

"What? I don't think so."

Catra smirked. "Just follow my lead."

Adora began to object, but decided just to go with it. As the music built up to a strong finish, Catra pulled Adora even closer to her and then slightly sidestepped. Adora let herself be guided and she felt Catra's hand on her back as Catra lowered her, supporting her back and dipping her down until she was angled and held in place by Catra's grasp. Catra leaned down over her and smiled, the pride flaring in her eyes. The music stopped.

Catra pulled her back up onto her feet and slowly removed her hands from Adora's waist and back.

"Where did you learn that?" Adora asked, impressed that Catra had done it so gracefully.

"Uh...do you want the honest answer or the cool answer?" Catra asked, straightening out her suit.

"Honest."

"YouTube. Learned it last night."

Adora smiled. "Well you learned it really well for such a short amount of time! And you held me like that for a while! We really are building up your muscles."

Catra flexed with both arms and struck a pose. "I could probably flex and rip through this whole suit if I wanted to."

"I would love to see that."

"Oh you would?" Catra asked, raising an eyebrow suggestively.

"I…" Adora felt her face grow red. "I mean...I meant I…"

Catra laughed at Adora's flubbering and was about to harass the girl further when she saw Scorpia running up to them.

"Hey!" She exclaimed, walking up to the two and looking between them.

"Oh no," Scorpia said as she saw the two of them and read their faces. "Did I interrupt a moment? Oh wow, I'm sorry. I really should have, like, approached slower or something. Maybe we should have, like, a system where if you guys are having _you _time and I'm coming, you just flash me a hand signal. Or maybe we can…"

"Scorpia, you can stop," Catra said with a grin. "You didn't interrupt us."

"Oh that's a relief," Scorpia said with a sigh. "Well Bow and Glimmer wanted me to tell you that they have the dance ready and they're gonna bust it out during the next song. They requested it and everything."

"Well we can't miss that," Adora said excitedly. "Lead the way!"

Scorpia led them through all the students, clearing a path easily with her height and size. She brought them to a space in the middle of the whole dance floor. Glimmer was there talking to Mermista and Bow was talking to a boy Adora had never seen before, but quickly realized must be the Dani she had heard so much about.

As Scorpia walked up to them with Catra and Adora in tow, Bow greeted them excitedly. "Hey guys! You ready for the best dance you're ever gonna see?"

Glimmer slid in beside him. "Yeah, not to toot our own horns, but it is kind of the best dance ever made."

Mermista chuckled at this. "You two are like each other's hype men."

"They do this a lot," Adora pointed out. "It can be a very dangerous thing when they set their minds to something."

"We're unstoppable together!" Bow exclaimed. "Oh and also, guys, this is Dani."

Dani waved and Catra and Adora greeted him.

Catra hadn't been there when Bow was talking about Dani earlier, but she looked between the two boys a few times and smirked knowingly. She shot Bow a wink and a nod of approval and he smiled back at her.

Then the song that was playing began to end and Bow and Glimmer looked to each other and nodded. They moved to the middle of the makeshift circle that their friends had formed.

"This is probably the single most dorky thing I'll ever see," Catra whispered to Adora.

"Aw, I think it's cute," Adora objected with a grin.

Glimmer and Bow both got into position, standing shoulder to shoulder. They waited a few moments for the song to stop and then a new song began to play. It was a hip-hop song that had been big back when Bow and Glimmer had first made this dance.

Bow and Glimmer looked at each other for a moment, waiting for the song to ramp up. Then, the second the song hit its first big bass drop, Glimmer and Bow exploded into action.

They weaved around one another in a fluid motion, before splitting and moving their bodies with the beat of the song. They gyrated their hips and extended their arms in timed motions as they spun back around and switched sides again.

Their movements were actually pretty synced up considering they had just relearned it, and Adora was genuinely surprised at how good they were doing.

She turned to Catra, surprised, and saw that Catra was surprised as well. She slowly began to clap her hands to the beat and Adora smiled and clapped along as well. Scorpia caught on and enthusiastically clapped and cheered them on as the duo continued to dance.

Mermista had a big smile on her face and was watching Glimmer intently as the girl began to pop and lock with Bow.

All the noise brought more students over to watch and soon there was a whole mob of students surrounding a small circle where Bow and Glimmer were still going at it.

The music peaked and Bow dropped to the floor and began to wiggle his body in a decent attempt at doing the worm. Glimmer, above him, whipped her head to one side and began to smoothly moonwalk backwards.

Everyone watching cheered loudly and the rhythmic clapping turned into applause. Adora laughed at the ridiculousness of all this and clapped for her friends.

After a few moments, Bow went limp on the floor and then slowly got up, Glimmer having to help him to his feet. They were both breathing heavily and Bow was clutching his side. Then they both smiled and did goofy little bows.

The small crowd that had formed clapped and dissipated as Bow and Glimmer moved out of the circle.

"Guys that was awesome!" Adora exclaimed. "I genuinely thought it would suck, but it was really fun!"

The two tired dancers shot Adora a grin.

Bow patted his side and winced. "Yeah I wormed a little too hard there at the end, but it was worth it."

Dani came up beside him and put a hand on his shoulder and Bow smiled over at him.

"And, Glim!" Scorpia yelled over the music. "That moonwalk was awesome! How'd you even move like that?"

A cocky smile consumed Glimmer's face. "Oh it's no big deal really. All in the ankles. I could teach you sometime if you want."

"I do very much want that," Scorpia said quickly.

Glimmer smiled and felt a hand clap her on the back. She turned and saw Mermista, who was admiring her proudly.

"That was, like, so cool. The least cringey dance routine I've ever seen at a school dance by far."

Glimmer beamed up at her. "Thanks. We should dance too. But...maybe after Bow and I get some water."

"Definitely," Bow agreed.

At this point, Adora pulled Catra away from the group slowly.

"What's up?" Catra asked.

"Well it's getting kinda late and...I kinda maybe have one more plan for the night if you wanna leave a little early."

Catra squinted her eyes thoughtfully as if she was weighing something out in her head. "Well...hmm...maybe we should have, like, collaborated more, but I may have had a surprise plan as well."

"Really?" Adora asked. "Shoot. Well...what's yours?"

Catra looked horrified at the question. "I can't just _tell_ you! That'd ruin it!"

Adora laughed. "Okay good point. Well mine involves going somewhere. What about yours?"

"Oh this is a fun game," Catra cooed. "Mine involves, like, doing a thing. So how about we go to _your_ place and do _my_ thing?"

"Now that's teamwork," Adora said proudly.

"Heck yeah," Catra agreed. "Now, you wanna get outta here or what?"

"Let's do it."

* * *

"Holy cow, my feet are gonna be so sore tomorrow," Adora complained, rubbing her feet in Catra's car as they drove. They were on their way to Catra's house first so that Catra could drop by and grab something.

Catra glanced over to Adora, massaging her bare feet up on the dash, and shook her head. "You absolute animal. Getting your foot juice everywhere."

Adora gasped. "I do not have foot juice!"

Catra laughed petulantly. "Tell that to my dad when I give him the car back and he's like, 'What's all this juice on the dashboard?'"

"Stoooop!" Adora whined as she playfully hit at Catra's arm. "You're such a little jerk."

Catra grinned at this. "Only for you, dear."

Catra pulled into her driveway and parked the car. "But really though, your feet are fine."

"Well it's too late, now I'm self conscious about them," Adora said, feigning annoyance as she put her shoes back on again.

Catra sighed contentedly, enjoying their banter. "Well you can stay in the car and do whatever you want with your feet. I'm gonna grab something. Or several things! Who knows?"

"Wow you're really selling the surprise part of it," Adora said, amused.

"That's the plan. Actually, you should close your eyes until I get back."

"Oh fine," Adora said as she covered her face with her hands.

Catra snickered at the sight of her. "Okay I'll be back."

Catra hopped out and shut the door and Adora was left in the car.

A few moments later, she heard quick footsteps approaching the car again and then heard the trunk open and close.

Adora opened her eyes as Catra opened the door and sat back down. "Did you peek?"

"Of course not," Adora answered. "But I was tempted."

"Well you'll see soon enough anyway. So...where are we going?"

Adora smiled. "Well just follow my directions and you'll figure it out."

"You're real mysterious tonight, you know that?"

"Says the one who made me close my eyes so they could throw something in the trunk."

"Touché," Catra said as she backed out of her driveway and pulled out onto the street.

Adora directed her on where to go and Catra was confused for quite a while as Adora led her through town. Then, when Adora had her turn down a familiar dirt road, Catra suddenly realized where they were headed.

"Are...are we going to the sunflower field?" Catra asked.

"Yup," Adora answered. "I wanted to end the night somewhere special. And where we could be alone."

Catra's expression softened as she looked over at Adora, whose eyes were trained on the road ahead.

"That sounds _perfect_," Catra said softly. She drove the now familiar route and stopped when her headlights illuminated a hill ahead of them. A single tree graced the top of the incline and it overlooked a long stretch of sunflower fields. It was one of Catra's favorite places in the world, and the fact that Adora had brought her here made it even more special.

Adora popped open the glovebox and pulled out the bag that she had stashed in there when they had left for the dance earlier that evening.

"So the mystery bag is revealed at last," Catra said contentedly.

"Yup. I'll grab those blankets I threw in the back seat."

"Oh that does make sense now," Catra said thoughtfully as she hopped out of the car and helped Adora grab the handful of blankets.

Luckily, the moon was bright tonight so the girls didn't have any trouble making their way around. They walked up the hill and Adora laid out the blanket right in the spot where they had sat last time. The girls sat down beside one another and Adora wrapped the second blanket around the two of them. Their combined body heat warmed them both and Catra pulled her end tightly around her.

"Is it too cold?" Adora asked. "I was worried it'd be too cold for here, but it's so pretty and everything."

"I'm a little chilly," Catra admitted. "But…I'm sure if you scooted a little closer I'd be warmer."

Adora smiled at her comment and obliged happily, scooting closer to Catra until both of their shoulders were touching and the blanket was wrapped all around them like a loose cocoon.

"Much better," Catra said with a happy sigh as she snuggled in closer.

"Definitely better," Adora replied. "Look at the field. It's so pretty in the moonlight."

Catra looked out at the field and saw that it was, indeed, beautiful tonight. The tops of all the flowers were lit up, and while the yellow color didn't show as it did in the day time, they were all covered in a soft blue light. The wind blew and made them all sway in different directions.

They sat and watched the flowers for a while and then Adora pulled over her bag. "Now I did promise you some dessert."

"I was hoping that'd be what was in there," Catra said as she peered over into the bag. Adora pulled out a small cupcake tray that had 6 cupcakes sitting in it.

Catra sat up excitedly at the sight of cupcakes and Adora laughed.

"Now it's really not much," Adora insisted. "But see, I remembered from our detention that you love lemon cake and I thought that was both endearing and gross. So half of these are lemon and then I made the other half chocolate for the normal people. That's me."

Catra laughed, her dimples showing as she smiled up at Adora. "Normally I'd argue with you about this, but I'm just too happy that you actually made cupcakes for me."

"Well it really isn't much," Adora said bashfully. "But I did manage not to burn them!"

Catra grabbed one out of the tin and took a big bite, eating about half of it. She pulled back from the cupcake happily and Adora laughed as she saw a huge glob of yellow frosting on the tip of Catra's nose.

Catra quickly rubbed it off and looked embarrassed.

Adora, seeing her embarrassment, took a cupcake of her own and did exactly what Catra had done, taking a big bite and getting frosting all over her nose.

Catra smiled warmly. "Well it just looks cute when you do it."

"Trust me," Adora said through a mouthful of cupcake. "It looks cute when you do it too."

Catra felt herself practically melt from Adora's words and suddenly felt such a strong surge of passion for Adora. She just had to get it out in some way.

"Adora," Catra said suddenly.

Adora cocked her head and Catra continued.

"Can I do my thing now? I think I'm ready."

Adora nodded. "Yeah of course. Is it the thing in the trunk?"

"Yeah I'm gonna go grab it," Catra said. "You wait here and don't let me talk myself out of it!" Catra got up and started off down the hill towards the car.

"I won't!" Adora called after her. She was excited to see what Catra had planned. She was feeling the strongest mixture of nerves and attraction tonight. Especially now that they were here. This was where Adora wanted to tell Catra how much she meant to her. How badly she wanted to be more than just friends.

Now that it was closer to her having to do it, she was actually super nervous. She didn't think Catra would reject her and they had been flirting back and forth all night, but something about making it all official felt so nerve-wracking.

But just thinking back to Catra holding her so tightly at the dance made her realize that she didn't want anything more than to be with Catra. _Really_ with Catra. She wanted to hold hands in the hallways and have pet names and do all that corny relationship stuff.

Adora made up her mind to open up to Catra right after whatever she was about to do. Then she'd tell her how she really felt.

Adora heard the sound of footsteps behind her and turned to see Catra coming up the hill, still in her suit, but with the bowtie untied and dangling from her neck. She was carrying a big, black bag in her arms and Adora struggled to make out what it was.

Catra reached the top of the hill and sat back down on the blanket, facing Adora and laying the bag down on the ground. Then she unzipped the bag and pulled out her acoustic guitar from inside.

Adora's mouth fell open and she stared at Catra in surprise. "Are you gonna play something?"

"Well that is the plan," Catra said with a grin. She pulled out a pick and began to tune it. "I'm more nervous than I thought I'd be."

"Well it's just me," Adora said comfortingly.

"That's why I'm nervous," Catra said, looking into her eyes. She finished tuning the strings and strummed a few times as warm up. Adora watched on as Catra sat cross-legged and rested the guitar across her lap.

"You can't laugh, okay?" Catra said, pointing a finger at Adora.

"I would never laugh at you! I mean...I do a lot. But not for this!" Adora ensured. "Plus you play so beautifully!"

"Yeah, well…" Catra said uneasily as she shifted the guitar in her arms. "I'm kinda...maybe...adding some words to it this time."

Adora's jaw dropped. "Y... you're gonna sing? You said you never sing!"

"Well not in front of others," Catra said nervously. "And I'm not very good."

"Catra," Adora said, shaking her head. "You could literally sing anything and no matter how bad it was I would _love _it." She scooted closer and put a hand on Catra's. "It's gonna be great."

Catra smiled at the encouraging words and nodded to herself. "Okay. Okay then. Here we go. Fair warning, it's pretty uh...I mean it's…ah, you'll see."

Catra turned her attention to the guitar in her hands. She couldn't see the strings too well in just the moonlight, but she had played this so many times in her bedroom that her fingers knew what to do on their own. She gave one last look to Adora, who was watching excitedly, a delighted grin on her face.

Then she began to strum slowly on the guitar. Starting quiet and getting louder in a nice sounding chord. She moved her fingers a bit and played out a nice little repeating melody.

Adora watched and listened to the beautiful music as Catra's trained fingers strummed at the strings slowly. Adora thought she recognized it and then remembered it was the same tune that Catra had played for her when she had first listened to her. Just the sound brought back good memories.

And then Catra cleared her throat. Adora watched in silent anticipation as Catra continued to strum the melody. And then she closed her eyes and opened her mouth and began to sing softly, her voice deep and raspy and beautiful as it harmonized perfectly with the notes she played.

_"I've always hated love songs_

_They made it seem unreal_

_The idealistic romance_

_And the way it made them feel_

_Oh, I've always hated love songs_

_They're ridiculous at best_

_From the constant fantasizing_

_To the flutter in their chests_

_But now I've been thinking_

_That I didn't understand_

_Because I had not experienced_

_The touch of your hand"_

Catra paused here and continued to strum the chorus as she opened her eyes for the first time since she had started singing. She locked eyes with Adora and was surprised to see tears flowing from Adora's eyes. The moon glinted off of the tear streams on her cheeks and made them look like little silver rivers running down her face. Catra felt tears well up in her own eyes as she maintained eye contact with Adora and started into the next verses.

_"And the sound of your laughter_

_It could bring me to tears_

_And the way you're always there for me_

_To help me through my fears_

_And all the times I tried to sleep_

_And all I thought about was you_

_I know that sounds so cheesy_

_But I swear to God it's true_

_The feeling when you look at me_

_Makes those love songs all sound true_

_I used to hate love songs_

_But now I've made one for you"_

Catra sang the last line softly and stared into Adora's eyes. They were both crying now as Catra slowly ended the song on a final, beautiful note.

Catra stared at Adora, who almost seemed to be frozen in place and felt such an urge to comfort her. She hoped that her song had somehow conveyed how she felt.

"Adora, you're...I mean you're just so…" Catra stuttered. "I mean...I'm not great with my words, but…"

Adora suddenly leapt forward and grabbed the sides of Catra's face with cold, trembling hands. Catra's eyes widened and as they stared at each other and time stood still, Adora could see the moon reflected in Catra's beautiful eyes.

"I love you, Catra," Adora said softly.

And then she pulled Catra's face towards her own and crashed her lips into Catra's. Catra let out a surprised sound that turned into a quiet whimper and then into a pleasured rumble that sounded almost like a purr.

Their tears, still wet on their faces, combined and soaked their cheeks as Catra pushed aside her guitar carelessly and wrapped her arms around Adora, pulling her even closer and deepening the kiss.

Adora let out a small sound at this and Catra felt her soften in her arms. Adora ran her hands through Catra's hair and felt her brain go fuzzy with desire as all she could think about was the feeling of Catra's lips on hers.

They kissed long and passionately. They didn't feel time pass or even the cold around them. They were only aware of each other and their need to be close.

And then after what felt like an eternity, the kissing slowed and both girls leaned their heads back slightly, breathing heavily and looking at each other with months of unspoken passion burning in their eyes.

"I love you too," Catra said softly.

Adora's face weakened and she helplessly pulled Catra in for another kiss before letting her go again.

They stared into each other's eyes then. Just as they had back when they had first met in Mrs. Weaver's classroom. They thought about how far they had come.

Catra grabbed the blanket and wrapped them both up again like one big caterpillar. This time, they held each other as closely as they could. Then they laid back on the blanket and looked up at the stars together.

"Well, I wanted to say this earlier," Catra said softly, running her fingers through Adora's hair. "But you kinda cut me off."

Adora laughed gently. "I'm sorry. I really couldn't help myself."

"I'm glad you couldn't. I mean that was...wow. But what I wanted to say is just... you're incredible, Adora. I just haven't ever felt like this for anyone before. Not anywhere near like how I feel for you. Since the first time I saw you I just...I felt like there was something there. Between us. And it seemed...I mean it seemed…"

"Crazy?" Adora added and Catra chuckled.

"Yeah, exactly. It's all been so crazy. Every single day since I met you. Crazy but...so, so amazing. And I just...I've wanted to tell you how beautiful you are since I first got to know you. And now I never wanna stop."

"You don't have to," Adora said softly and turned to face Catra as they laid bound up in their blanket together. "Because I wanna be with you for as long as I possibly can. You're so...incredible. I mean, you made this town a home for me. You stood up for me and helped me through so many rough patches. And you wrote me a freaking song!" Adora wiped a few tears from her eye as she remembered the song and Catra laughed contentedly.

"It was all true," Catra said softly. "You turn me into a big sap. A big, cheesy sap. I used to be cool before you showed up."

"Oh sure," Adora said with a laugh as she nuzzled her head into the crook of Catra's arm.

"I was!" Catra protested, laughing heartily. Adora loved feeling the laughs reverberate from Catra's chest against her head.

Catra wrapped her other arm around Adora and they stayed clutching each other tightly.

They laid like that and lost track of time. Reminiscing about how they had met and all the times they had wanted to confess their love to one another. They recollected it all. How they had started as bitter enemies and wound up as friends and then became so much more.

Bundled up together on that hill under the glowing moon surrounded by a sea of flowers, they held each other and marveled over how their love for one other had slowly grown within them. Days at a time.


End file.
